And So We Must Live
by Dr. Emma Hamish Winchester
Summary: Anakin didn't die at the end of Return of the Jedi. Instead, Luke took him back to the Rebels and got him help. How will everyone cope with this new situation? How will Anakin manage the horrible guilt of his years as a Sith, and how will Leia reconcile her hatred for Darth Vader and memories of her family with the new family that her brother is offering? Please read and review.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hello everyone! Well, due to my possible obsession, I am writing another Anakin/Vader redemption fic, this one definitely multi-chapter. Anyway, hope you like it, and please leave me reviews. We begin on the second death star, hovering over Endor...

I do not own Star Wars or it's characters.

* * *

Chapter 1

* * *

Anakin held his damaged arm to his chest as Luke struggled to half-carry him to a shuttle, finally collapsing on the floor as the larger man and metal suit proved too heavy for him to support.

"Luke, help… me take… this mask off." The thready wheezing continued.

"But you'll die."

Anakin swallowed, studying his son through the red lenses and deteriorating data feed of his helmet, "Nothing… can stop that now. Just this once… let me look on you with my own eyes."

Luke continued to look pleading, "Surely the suit must be doing something."

"It is merely… prolonging… the inevitable. Th… The Emperor broke it, Luke. It… can't help me anymore."

Luke peered up the ramp to the shuttle, "Well maybe it can last you until we get to the Rebellion. There will be doctors there."

Anakin smiled faintly at Luke's stubbornness. The boy was so like his mother. Or him. He tried to talk some sense into him, "You must… leave quickly. This station… is about to be… destroyed."

Luke seemed to have determined a course of action, "Yeah, it is." He looked back at the black metal mass, sighing, "Okay, here we go." Grabbing his hands once more, Luke dragged him slowly up the ramp into the shuttle, closing the door and running to the controls, "I won't leave you. Just hold on a little longer; you're going to get help."

* * *

Leia watched overjoyed as an Imperial shuttle hurriedly landed on Endor. She had known Luke was alive, or guessed since she thought she could still feel him, but she was still new to this whole "Force" thing and was glad of the confirmation. Then her smile dropped as he dragged a large black form down the ramp. "Doctor!" He yelled, "We need a doctor here!"

 _Are you kidding me_ , she thought.

Everyone was silent, unmoving, ranged about the area staring expressionlessly at the scene.

Luke knelt on the ground beside the monster, pleading with the surrounding rebels, "Someone get a doctor, a medical droid, something! Please! He's gonna die!"

His attention was drawn back to Vader, who was at this point clawing at the throat piece with his remaining hand, "I- I can't breathe. I can't breathe. Please, Luke! I can't-" He arched slightly, convulsing, trying to get air that was currently non-existent. "They won't help. They shouldn't. I should die. Please, Luke. I can't- I can't get it off myself. Not with one hand."

"Just hold on a little longer." The young man clung to him, tears in his eyes as he turned to his sister, "Leia! You know who he is! It's him, I promise! He saved my life! Will you do nothing?"

 _That thing is not my father._

Seconds ticked by. The thready wheezing of the helmet continued to get weaker. Now it was almost silent. Finally, desperate, Luke turned back to her, "He has information about the Empire. Troop movements, names of officials, weaknesses of weapons… Anything you could possibly want to know. He will gladly give it up. All you have to do is save him."

"Get this mask off me! I don't want to die in here. Please, get me out!"

Leia stared. It was bizarre, hearing the deep, artificial voice of Darth Vader sounding so frightened and desperate, as if he were panicking, as if there really was a person inside the suit and not a monster.

"Leia!"

Information. They needed it. The Emperor may have been dead, but there was still the entire Imperial machine to bring down. That additional intelligence could be invaluable. She sighed, "Bring a stretcher. We need to get him to the medical frigate."

No one stirred, looking at her as if she had lost her mind.

"Move!" They broke up, getting down to business, and soon he was being rolled onto a stretcher.

The doctor spoke, "We need to get the helmet off to administer oxygen." Anakin, by this point completely panicked and confused, not to mention air-deprived, was fighting them, pushing them away, calling for his son. Luke managed to calm him down, and after a few seconds succeeded in removing the top of the helmet, shortly followed by the mask.

A pale, sickly, deformed creature emerged, more akin to something that lived under a rock than a man. The only recognizably human part of his battered face, in fact, were the clear blue eyes shining out of sunken sockets. Luke only had a moment to take it in, however, before an oxygen mask was pulled over his father's head, obscuring his face.

Deep, quick breaths followed, Anakin putting up his remaining hand to hold the mask, pressing it closer to his face. "Thank you." He gasped out, the words garbled and difficult to hear due to the rubber covering his nose and mouth.

Luke's earnest blue eyes met his, "You're going to be okay. We're gonna help you."

Anakin's right arm reached for the young man, Luke gripping the wire-covered end in lieu of the missing hand. Then it was pulled from his grasp as they wheeled him off.

He stood, staring after them, and shortly felt Leia's comforting presence by his shoulder, "Are you all right?"

Luke's voice was distant, "He saved me, Leia. He killed the Emperor so that I could get out. And he almost died doing it." He looked at his twin, "I was right about him. He could come back."

She paused, "I- I'm glad you feel that way, Luke. Truly I am. And I hope your trust is vindicated. Me? All I want is the information."

Luke looked unhappily confused, gripping her arm, "He's our father."

She pulled away from him, "My father died on Alderaan. If I had my way I would shoot Vader myself."

"His name is Anakin Skywalker."

"Who cares."

* * *

Anakin lay on a med-bay cot, trying to see around all the tubes and wires that now covered him. Where did he go from here? What did he do? He had imagined he would die killing Palpatine, that after that it would be over. Instead here he was, out of the suit and on life support. So, what next?

 _Kill them all and escape._

Anakin ignored the whispering voice in his head. That was another unforeseen problem that he had expected death to solve. He was back in the light, but for how long? Keeping the dark side at bay was already proving a struggle. What if he lost? No, no. He wouldn't lose. He wouldn't become that _thing_ again. He wouldn't hurt these people.

At least the pain was largely gone; he felt better than he had… well ever. He supposed since Mustafar. Whatever painkillers the Rebellion had, they worked. He relaxed back into the pillows, resolved to simply enjoy the medication and his ability to once more look out a window with his own blasted eyes. Maybe he could meditate, if he remembered how that was done as a Jedi, attempt to increase his connection to the light side. Yes… that would be a good idea.

He had just closed his eyes when a series of confused beeps sounded beside him, a mechanical voice he hadn't heard in over twenty years reaching his ears. Anakin turned his head, thankful for the oxygen tubes in his nose rather than a mask. Slowly he cracked a smile, managing to talk, "Hey, little buddy. It's good to see you. Remember me?"

R2D2 stared confusedly at him for a moment as his recognition matrix ran Anakin's ruined features through his databanks. It took a little while, the man looked so different, but then he exploded into happy beeps and whistles.

Anakin laughed a little at the droid's outburst, then stopped. It was strange; it felt so natural. He couldn't remember the last time he had laughed. "Yeah, R2, it's me. Yeah, I'm okay, I guess. Better than normal." The astromech moved closer, emitting a low, sad beep at the state of his master. Anakin navigated the tubes and wires with difficulty, finally reaching out a shaking, thin, bare metal hand to rest on the droid's top, "I know. Neither of us is quite what we were. It'll be okay though." He paused, blinking away tears, "We'll live, somehow. And don't worry about those struts. I'll fix your jet propellers as soon as I get out of here." Another sad beep emitted from the droid, and he moved in closer to his master, ending directly beside the bed.

Anakin turned his head away, starting to cry silently as guilt overwhelmed him.

Why hadn't he died?


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hello everyone! Thanks for reading, and for the surprising number of follows, favs, and reviews. I did not expect this fic to be so popular. Anyway… **ReySkywalker112** : I'm glad you enjoyed it! It's a concept that has long intrigued me as well, and I hope that I can do it justice. **Guest** : Thanks! Here's a chapter! **Lyn79** : The technology at their disposal is definitely better than what he had acess to before. (Case in point, the fake skin on Luke's prosthetic) Though, I think it's worth noting, Palpatine wasn't prepared to wait the months that it would have surely taken to heal his apprentice properly, it's not like he actually cared about him, so perhaps Anakin could have done better if he hadn't been stuck with the Empire and a "six hours to battlefield readiness" sort of timetable. We will definitely be exploring all of that though, as well as delving nice and deep into the family dynamic. **AnakinandPadme** : Great hearing from you again. Is this soon enough for you? **Lunarchronicalsandcockatiels** : Thanks! **Disney Syndulla** : Oh, she'll come around eventually… maybe. Regardless, Leia definitely got the majority of the Anakin snark, and has never been shy about using it. Read on!

I do not own Star Wars or its characters.

* * *

Chapter 2

* * *

Anakin spoke as Luke entered the room, his face turned to face the bay window, "Hey, have you seen this?"

Luke looked where he was looking, finally speaking confusedly, "What…?"

His father smiled, "Look at them, the stars. Aren't they beautiful?"

It was the same view Luke had been looking at almost ever since he left Tatooine, "Um… yeah, I guess. They're just stars."

The smile was undiminished, Anakin didn't seem to have heard, "Look at them! Piercing through the blackness like pinpricks, with nebulas giving us swirls of brilliant color every so often if you thought it was getting too boring. It's amazing."

Luke, finally concluding he was out of it and high on medication, shook his head, "All right. Whatever."

Anakin continued to stare out the window, reveling in the sight. It was the first time in over two decades that he had seen this without the red tint of the lenses and the constant stream of data that appeared before his eyes wherever he looked, giving him tactical information on each system when he looked at them. He felt like crying with joy. That suit would not be missed.

He spoke to his son, "Luke?"

"Huh?"

"I… I saw some small explosions on the surface last night. Is everything all right?"

Luke paused, "Um, yeah. We had a party… ish… thing to celebrate the destruction of the death star. There were some fireworks."

The other man smiled faintly, murmuring, "The death of Darth Sidious… at last. Worth celebrating."

"Huh?" Luke asked questioningly, not having quite heard him, "Hey, listen, I'm sorry you didn't get to come, but, you know… it would have been kind of hard, what with the life support and all. And besides-"

"It's good I wasn't there. They deserved their night of happiness. My presence would make things… awkward."

Luke stared at him sadly, "Look, Father, it's not like that. I don't want you thinking…"

 _Thinking what? That they all hate me?_

Anakin smiled as the door opened and Leia entered. While something of a surprise, he was glad that she was here. It was like looking at a smaller, angrier version of Padme. Especially her eyes. The soft, brown ones that-

She glared as she caught sight of him, and he could feel her hatred rise.

Luke must have felt it as well, moving protectively in front of the bed, "What are you doing here?"

"Well, he's sitting here taking up space and consuming some nice, fancy painkillers, I think it's about time he payed for it and answered some questions."

The blond man looked pleading, "Leia, he just got here. Can't you give him a moment of peace? Just a moment to settle in before you start badgering him?"

She gave him a frustrated look, "Luke, the information he possesses is time-sensitive. We need to get it now before they realize they have a leak and change everything."

"They think he's dead!"

Anakin touched his son's arm, trying to placate the upset youth, "Hey, Luke, um… could you get me a pad?"

He looked confused, "A pad?"

Anakin's eyes shifted momentarily to Leia, "Yeah, a pad. You know, something to read. I'm… I'm kinda bored in here."

"Are you sure-"

"Now, please." He paused, giving his son puppy dog eyes, "Please?"

The young man sighed, looking from him to Leia and back again, "Oh, all right."

Anakin spoke to his back as he left, "Thank you."

He paused as the door closed, sending a long, studying look in the direction of his daughter. Finally he spoke, "I suppose you're here to kill me." The casual tone, as if he had merely said she was here to chat, or have lunch, was somewhat disturbing. There was no fear in his gaze, and Leia wondered how he could be so calm.

"No," She said quietly.

"Hm. Boring." He grunted, collapsing back into the pillows at his back, "I don't know why. It would be easy, you know. Just pull that plug over there." He turned his head and pointed, "That one right there. No one would have to know; you could tell Luke that I did it when you stepped out of the room for a second."

She glanced at the plug in question. It was tempting… "Are you encouraging me to kill you?"

He shrugged matter-of-factly, "I can't do it myself. And unlike a lot of revenge, this really would be justice."

"Justice you don't deserve."

He tilted his head, raising his eyebrows slightly, "True." She was right. He deserved a long, tortuous, lingering death. There was silence as they studied each other. Finally Leia spoke, "Luke wouldn't buy it. He knows you couldn't reach that."

Anakin sighed, "Yeah… they have it all pretty nicely suicide-proofed. It was worth a try though." He paused, "So, why are you here?"

I already told you. Time to pay for all of this."

"Okay." He struggled to sit up slightly, turning his head exhaustedly to look at her, "So, how does this work? Is this a 'you ask, I answer' sort of interrogation, or a 'you torture me and eventually let me answer some questions' sort of interrogation? Because, just so you know, you aren't very intimidating."

She did not appreciate the sarcasm, "Do you want me to pull your painkillers?"

"It would be a good place to start."

She stood, fuming, then snapped, "You are really annoying, did you know that?"

He nodded, "It has been said."

"Are you ever not snarky?"

"Not as yet. Sorry."

She continued to stare at him and fume, finally looking down at her pad for a distraction. She raised an eyebrow, muttering, "All right then." She sighed, "Okay, where is-"

He shifted slightly, moaning faintly in discomfort.

"What's wrong?" She asked, irritated at the interruption.

Anakin glanced at her, "Oh, nothing. My foot itches. It does that sometimes. Carry on."

Leia stared at him, confused, "Your foot itches?"

"Yeah. I don't know why. It just does."

"Well, is there anything I can do?" Her tone sounded more sarcastic than helpful.

Anakin chuckled, "What? Scratch it? Believe me, I wish I had a foot that could actually itch. It's not real, it's just… something… with my brain… I don't know."

Leia folded her arms, an annoyed, distrustful expression on her face, "You know, trying to make me feel sorry for you is not going to work."

He grinned slightly, "Wasn't trying to." He paused, the smile fading, looking back at the woman, "Anyway, go on. Questions. You were saying..."

* * *

Leia almost ran into a muscular chest as she walked quickly away from the med-bay, desperate to escape.

"Hey, watch where you're going, your highness."

She glared up, finding herself staring into Han's handsome face, "I told you not to call me that." He must have perceived her distress, as his brow lined in gentle concern and his hands came to rest on her arms, "Hey, what's wrong?"

The comforting gesture proved too much for her already overwrought nerves and she broke down sobbing, collapsing into his chest, his arms stealing around her in a protective hug, "Boy, something must have really gotten you upset."

She continued to weep into his shirt, finally stammering out, "I can't do it, Han. Not again. I can't go in that room and face him… I just… I can't."

"Shh… shh… it's all right. It's all all right." He paused, looking around, "Maybe we should get out of the hall. Wouldn't do for them to see their general in a state, now would it?"

She nodded, and he quickly moved them into a side room. Leia sat in a chair, and Han deposited himself on the arm of a sofa opposite her, "Now, what happened? You went for information right? What did he say to you?" His expression turned dark, "Did he threaten you? Because I swear, if that kid brought a homicidal maniac onto this ship-"

"No, no, nothing like that. It wasn't… it wasn't anything he said, I just…" She broke down again, "He tortured me!" At the renewed tears Han moved forward, kneeling in front of her and taking her hands, "Hey… princess…"

"He tortured you! He killed my family!" She paused, choking on tears, "And now I'm supposed to talk to him, to… to consider him my father?"

The brown-haired man stared at her, shocked, "Darth Vader is your _father?!_ "

"Shhh! Not so loud!" She whispered.

"Sorry… Just kind of a shock is all."

She looked down, "Luke told me on Endor, just before he left to get captured."

Han nodded, "Well... it's a tough break." He paused, "Come here." He led her to the sofa, letting her curl up on his lap with her head under his chin and sob.

"Are you going to be okay?"

She didn't respond.

* * *

Luke returned shortly after his sister left, eyeing Anakin concernedly as the man offered a token thanks for the pad and set it aside. "Father?"

Anakin didn't hear him, remembering the pain he had felt from his daughter. He wished that there was something, anything that he could do to make it right. She had tried to stay strong in front of him, and he was proud of her for it, but he could sense how much it hurt her to even be in the same room with him. He hated himself for what he had done to her.

"Father, are you all right?"

He looked up, slightly startled, "Hm? Um, yes, Luke. Absolutely. I think I'm a little tired though. Maybe I'll go to sleep."

His son continued to look concerned, "Do you want me to stay with you?"

… _In case I need anything? In case I try to kill myself during the night…? not that it is night. Probably only afternoon. Not that I would know._

He shook his head, "No, no. That's all right. I'll be fine, don't worry about me." He watched Luke hesitantly exit the room, turning off the light as he went out. Anakin lay back, trying vainly to get comfortable among the wires and IVs and beeping monitors, going over and over his dilemma in his mind.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Hello everyone! Thanks for reading, for the follows, favs and reviews. You are the best! **ILDV** : Thanks! **AnakinandPadme** : Have another one! **Lunarchronicalsandcockatiels** : There is actually some debate in canon about the effects of returning from the dark side, ranging from a slow, tortuous, grasping ascent to the light with assistance, to falling unconscious after a brief time and incurring complete amnesia of the person's actions (this one happened to Ezra in season one of Rebels). So exactly how easy Anakin will find it to come back and how much he will actually remember is up for debate. I do think Vader's complete (purposeful) disconnect with his former self will make it easier to keep him at bay, but more than that I cannot say at this time. The worst, of course, will be the guilt. As a Sith, he couldn't really feel guilt or grief, at least not properly, both of these at least somewhat derived from love, and guilt from an understanding of being the cause of other's pain and caring about that. Sith are ultimately selfish. They literally cannot care about someone else and stay pure. This is one reason Luke could bring him back. The moment he started to care about Luke, he was that much less on the dark side. Anyway, now that he is back, all the guilt and grief of everything is hitting him like a freight train. **Disney Syndulla** : We'll see how long it takes him to figure that out. **Pink Ranger 13** : Thanks! And I hope you stick with me to the end. **ReySkywalker112** : I'm glad you enjoyed. Read on…

I do not own Star Wars or its characters.

* * *

Chapter 3

* * *

The command staff was gathered around a holoterminal, discussing the problems they were facing in other areas of the sector. Luke was not present, the Jedi was nowhere to be found and had, in fact, taken a few hours off to rest and meditate. Leia was speaking, "…Well, there's nothing for it; that base has got to go."

General Akbar agreed, "She's right. They are providing supplies to every ship and outpost in the sector. We won't make any headway so long as it is operational." They voted, and the consensus was to get more data on the station with the intention of drafting a plan of attack. "After all," said someone, "After the Death Star how difficult can one base be?" A somber silence descended over the group.

They determined the pertinent questions, collecting them on a datapad inserted in the terminal. Leia sighed, retrieving it, "I'll be back soon." She turned, walking slowly out the door.

Han, seeing the pain buried in her expression, followed her out and took the pad from her, "Here, I'll do it."

"Han, you don't need to-"

He silenced her with a look, "I'll deal with it. You stay here and run the briefing. You shouldn't have to go through that." Giving him a grateful look, she departed back into the room.

* * *

Anakin moaned as he woke, growing aware of the itch still persisting in his non-existent foot.

 _Shut up. You aren't there. You aren't allowed to hurt._

He was about to just give up on the day and try to go back to sleep when he became aware of exactly how non-existent it was. He stared at the obviously empty lower section of the bed, crying out, "WHERE ARE MY LEGS?!" They took his blasted legs while he was asleep? They didn't even feel the need to tell him? He fell back into the pillows, hand over his face, sobbing, feeling violated and miserable. What, did they want him even less mobile? Exactly how much less mobile could he be? He was on blasted life support, stuck in a bed. What were they afraid of? Why did they have to take two perfectly functional prosthetics and leave the broken one? Why was he being forced to live? When would he be allowed to escape this hell?

He managed to compose himself somewhat as a droid came by, leaving a dish of… something. Rations he supposed.

 _Great. Just what I wanted._

He breathed heavily, moaning slightly, looking back at the empty stretch where the sheet fell straight down after the end of his stumps, "Hey, where are my legs?"

The medical droid whirred over to him, speaking robotically as it reached him, "Apologies. We needed them."

"Needed them? Needed them for what?"

It whirred automatically, "Breathe through your nose."

"Oh, thanks," He said sarcastically, being sure to stop emotionally gasping.

Anakin looked up as a brown-haired young man entered the room holding a datapad, a questioning expression appearing on his face, "Who are you? Where's Leia?" He paused, "I didn't drive her off, did I?"

"Leia doesn't want to see you, so you're stuck with me." He paused, "You really don't remember me? After all that time we spent together on Besbin? You remember that, don't you pal?" His voice was hard and resentful. "Maybe I should give you some back, you son of a Hutt."

The other stared at him, finally speaking, "I assume that I tortured you." He paused, looking down ashamedly, responding to Han's shocked face, "I'm sorry for forgetting. My memories of the dark side are kind of spotty to begin with now, and as Vader, I… I didn't bother remembering all the people I hurt, only the really important ones… so now that I care…"

"… You can't remember." Han finished distantly. "I'm sorry."

Anakin lay back, "Don't bother. I'm not worth it." He paused, "I wish that I could help Leia more." He paused, "Of course, if I could just _die_ I could. She wouldn't have to see me anymore. She could get on with her life. She could move on." He paused, "You want to take some revenge before letting me rat out the Empire? Go ahead."

Han watched him, finding it extremely difficult to reconcile the terrible, inhuman being of pure hate that he had fled and fought for the past several years with the depressed, scarred, broken, disabled wreck before him. Consequently he was also finding it difficult to keep the ways Vader had hurt him at the forefront of his mind. The sentiment on the man's face, however, was impossible to misinterpret. Han spoke, "You do care about her. You love her. Don't you." He remembered Luke's explanation when he had asked him about it. The Emperor had had him under mind control. Leia had huffed at it, but Han was finding it more and more believable.

Anakin looked at him, an expression on his face that was eerily similar to Leia, "Well, yes. She's my daughter." He paused, "I'm sorry, I don't know if I was supposed to tell you that. I doubt she wants anyone to know."

Han nodded, trying to at least pretend he was calm, "It's okay. She already told me. My name's Han Solo, by the way. Since you've forgotten." He paused, getting out the datapad and starting to unlock it, "All right, here we go." He handed it to the other man, "Here, I figure you can fill in the answers yourself." Anakin nodded an acknowledgement, looking up a second later in shock, "The access codes for the Gamora base?"

Han kept his face neutral, "Just answer the questions."

He raised a burned-off eyebrow, looking back at the pad, "All right. I'll do my best." He went through, speaking to himself, "Access codes, specs, troop numbers… Well I can't draw her a map if that's what she wants." There was some silence as he worked, then he handed it back, "There. I answered what I could, but I used databanks the same as anyone else. I don't have all of this stuff in my head."

Han looked it over, "Well, hopefully this'll do."

Anakin paused, "Check the mask."

Han looked confused, "What?"

The other spoke again, impatiently, "The mask, the helmet." He paused, "The suit had a constant data feed, both to a display on the lenses and just directly downloading to my brain." He gave Han a snarky look, "That was mainly mission details before you get too excited." He paused again, "But the lens feed was information about whatever I was looking at. If someone could hack into whatever technology is in that thing, they might be able to find additional information I don't know. I mean, I don't know, but it's worth a shot."

Han stared at him, confused by how helpful he was being, "Thanks."

Anakin looked at him quizzically as he turned to leave, "Hey, was that your YT?"

Han looked up, surprised, "What, the Falcon?"

Anakin nodded.

"Um, yeah."

The older man smiled, "She's a beautiful ship."

Han smiled bashfully, proudly embarrassed, hands awkwardly rubbing at the back of his pants, completely forgetting the need to leave, "Aw… You know ships?"

He nodded again, "Oh, yeah. All my life."

"Really?" He paused, "What was your first?"

Anakin hesitated, "Well, actually I started out working on podracers on Tatooine."

"Fixing or building?"

Anakin shrugged, "Fixing at first, but I did build one. Flew mostly." He paused, gesturing as he spoke, "It's weird. I've only ever seen one other YT, in a ship museum on Corellia, during the Clone Wars."

Han smirked, "You went to Corellia?"

"Yeah." He smiled amusedly, "Obi-Wan had to drag me out of there, let me tell you." The smile faded as he remembered his friend, and he fought back tears, clearing his throat, "Um, how fast is she really?"

"Well, she can make past point five."

Anakin looked incredulous, "Point five? No wonder those cruisers couldn't catch her." He paused, disbelieving, "Ships that old can't normally handle hyperspace at speeds like that. Their engines and stabilizers aren't built for it."

"Well, I've made some modifications."

The others eyebrows went up slightly and he grinned, "Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah."

Anakin paused, hesitant, wanting to ask a question but unsure of the response, "I would… love to see inside her."

Han waved a hand dismissively, "Ah… she's nothing much."

"Are you kidding?! A modified original YT?! She's a work of art!"

The younger man looked surprised, "Really? You really want to?"

"Yeah!"

"All right." He pointed accusingly, "But you've gotta live long enough to get out of this bed."

Anakin laughed, "Okay, it's a deal."

Remembering the briefing he had left, the other motioned awkwardly, "Well, I had better be getting back. It was good meeting you."

Anakin gripped Han's arm as he prepared to leave, his eyes intense and pleading, "Han, listen to me. Don't attack that base."

He smirked, "You aren't authorized for answers, and I did not confirm that. I'm just here for information."

"Well, take it from your informant, you do not want to attack that base."

Han gave up the pretense, arguing, "It's affecting our efforts in the entire sector."

Anakin nodded, "Yes, I know, and there is a reason for that. It's too well equipped for you. The Rebellion will be slaughtered."

The younger man stared at him, "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I want to see the Empire crushed as much as you do." He paused, "You need to weaken their forces, force them to reallocate resources away from the base, so that it'll be vulnerable."

"And I suppose you have a plan for doing that."

Anakin smirked knowingly.

* * *

Han returned to the briefing room, his hands awkwardly rubbing at the back of his pants.

Leia glanced at him, "Did you get it?" She paused, "Where's the pad?"

The man held it out to her, his eyes focused on the star chart hovering over the holotransmitter, speaking quietly, "Right here, but we're not attacking the base."

Her voice was dry, "What do you mean we're not attacking the base."

"Anakin says it's too well defended."

She sounded offended, "Oh, so it's 'Anakin' now."

"He's really not that bad."

Leia was incredulous, "Han, he delivered you to Jabba on a carbonite platter!"

The man shrugged, looking down into her angry face, "Well, you know… that was a while back… I got out…"

She rolled her eyes irritatedly, clenching her jaw.

"Anyway, he says he has a plan."

She spoke in a tense, patient tone, "His 'plan' is to betray us and turn us over to the Empire!"

Han shook his head, "I don't think so. I think he wants to help us."

She smiled, "What, like Lando wanted to help us?"

He pointed at her, "Hey, Lando did help us."

She raised a sardonic eyebrow.

"… Eventually. But he did."

"Mm-hm." She paused, her smile fading, "We should discuss this later." She raised her voice, "If no one currently has anything to add, I think we should adjourn this meeting. We will rendezvous with the outlying fleet at 1800 hours." The group started to break up, Leia giving Han a meaningful look before moving off.

An old bearded man Han recognized from the strike team on Endor stopped him, speaking in an odd accent Han didn't recognize, "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation. You mentioned someone named 'Anakin?'"

"Uh… yeah. Darth Vader. That's his real name, Anakin."

Something akin to hope lit up in the man's face, "Can you tell me where to find him?"


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Hello everyone! Well, here's another chapter. Thank you for reading the last chapter, and for responding to it. It was very kind of you. **StormSkye** : Thanks! I've been looking forward to writing them together for a long time, in a couple of my fics. They're really fun to have interact. **AnakinandPadme** : Which will be resolved within the next few chapters, I promise. I'm glad you liked it. For now, have a chapter! **Lunarchronicalsandcockatiels** : Thank you. **ReySkywalker112** : I'm not sure Han has necessarily _forgiven_ him, he has accepted Luke's (from a certain point of view type) explanation that the Emperor was mind controlling him. If Anakin was being mind-controlled, he literally had no physical choice about his actions, everything that happened was the Emperor's fault, Anakin was just a prisoner all those years. Of course, that isn't really quite true, and will prove to be important later. Besides, how many times have the twins called the Falcon junk? He's practically married to the thing and here is Anakin actually appreciating it. Of course he is going to warm up to him. Leia, meanwhile, was tortured, lost her family and entire planet, had her boyfriend tortured, her brother hurt, and has generally suffered a lot at the hands of Vader and the Empire, so naturally she is having a bit of a hard time forgiving him. Also, both Luke and Han are being nice about him now. She is feeling more and more alone, and feels a little betrayed that Han would abandon her, as she perceives it. Thus the lashing out. And Anakin blames himself for everything. As far as he is concerned, without him there wouldn't be an Empire, so it's his responsibility, as long as he can't fix things by dying, to at least do his part to help undo the mess he helped Palpatine create. **JOUNOCHI sama** : Thanks. 1: I promise I have things planned, and we will definitely be getting more looks at that. 2: I have never intended for Padme to be alive in this. I love her, and there will be flashbacks, dreams, etc, but she is most definitely dead, and will stay that way. **Reality Rejection Service** : Haha! Well, they are both ship nerds. **Maracollins** : I think you will find there is less cause for alarm with the legs than you'd think. I am glad you like my characterizations, and hope to hear from you again in the future. **Ichigo urahara Shihoin** : I know where she is, but I am hoping to get a definite yes or no from Rebels on whether she's alive. If I don't, I'll assume she is and she will appear presently. **Zireail07** : Read on…

I do not own Star Wars or its characters.

* * *

Chapter 4

* * *

Luke paused as he approached the medbay, sensing feelings of extreme distress from that area. He continued inside, his brow furrowed with worry.

As he entered he saw the problem. "Blast. I leave for five minutes…" he muttered, rushing to his father's side. "I'm sorry. I didn't expect them to do this without me."

Anakin spoke, staring confusedly at the lower part of the bed, "My legs are gone."

"I know."

"Why are they gone?"

"It's all right." He held him as best he could around the equipment, attempting to be comforting. Anakin looked at him, a betrayed expression stamped on his face, "How could you let them do this to me?"

"It's all right. They weren't very good. They're just making you some new ones."

He sounded just as ready to cry as he had been when Luke walked in, "Why?"

The young man started to get frustrated, "Because they're junk, that's why."

Anakin didn't sound like he had heard, "I've had them for twenty-three years. Why would they take them?"

Luke repented of his outburst, holding him closer and speaking soothingly, "It's okay. It'll all be okay."

" _It's alright, Ani. Don't worry. Everything will be all right." Anakin was nineteen again, in the medbay of a ship hovering over Geonosis, staring in horror at what was left of his right arm. Padme, a bandage around her middle, stroked his hair, comforting him, whispering soothing phrases into his ear._

" _Where's Obi-Wan?" he asked, desperately wanting his master's grounding presence._

 _She replied, "He had to make a report about this to the council. He'll be back soon." She paused, "Are you okay?"_

 _He forced himself to refocus his attention, dragging his gaze up to her face, feeling the pain fade into the back of his mind as he drowned in her brown eyes. "I will be," he said, leaning up to kiss her._

"Father?"

Anakin was dragged back to reality by the voice of his son. "Hm?"

"I'm sorry. I meant to be here."

"But why?"

"They needed them for reference. It's okay."

Anakin looked down, tears still leaking from his eyes.

"Is there anything I can get you?"

"Um…" His forehead wrinkled as he thought, "Do you think I could have table?"

Luke looked confused, "A table?"

He nodded, "Yeah. An… an adjustable table, to work on R2. And tools."  
"You know R2?"

Anakin paused, smiling nostalgically, "Please?"

Luke sighed, "All right. I'll get it."

* * *

"I would expect there to be more doctors for something like this."

About half an hour later Luke stood down the hall in the med-bay, meeting with the doctor overseeing the treatment to try to learn exactly what injuries his father had and what they were going to do. The doctor, a middle-aged twi-lek woman, responded, "Well, I am the only one willing to treat him."

Luke paused, "Oh." He was silent for a moment, "Well, why are you?"

"Well I'm not a closet Imperial sympathizer if that's what you mean." She sighed, "Master Skywalker, when he first came in I asked him to rate his pain on a scale of 1-10. Do you know what he said?"

Luke stared at her blankly.

"Six."

"What should he have said?"

"With his injuries?" She sighed, "I think, in his position, I would have said at least twenty. When I asked him if he wanted to reconsider he said it was only a little worse than normal and he had definitely had worse." She paused, "No one deserves to live in that much pain. No one. I don't care what they've done."

Luke nodded, "Okay. Good to hear. So what are we looking at?"

The doctor sighed, "Well, the injuries are extensive and severe. It will take a long time to finish healing everything."

Luke looked at her hopefully, "So you can heal everything?"

"I'll have to see. We should in theory, but with wounds this old…" She shook her head, "I don't want you to have any unrealistic expectations. It would have been a lot easier to treat these when they were incurred."

A sorrowful edge worked its way into the young man's voice, "'Unrealistic expectations.' What do you mean? He might never leave that bed?" He paused, "He might… he might still die?"

Her gaze turned back to the scans, "It all depends on what we can do."

"So what are you going to do?"

She sighed, pointing to places on the scans in turn, "First, and most important, are the internal injuries, most prominent of which are his lungs. They're… badly burned. We can replace them with an artificial alternative, but I would rather keep the existing tissue if we possibly can." She glanced briefly at Luke, "There is always a risk that his body might reject the new organs if we replace them." She looked back at the scans and continued, "Once that is taken care of, there are other things we can deal with while healing the external injuries."

"Other things like what?"

"His skin hasn't seen sunlight since… whatever made him like this. That needs to be remedied as soon as possible. Once he can breathe on his own he will be more mobile, and I want anyone who can to start taking him outside for periods each day. We can also get started reteaching him how to walk."

Luke looked confused, "Doesn't he already know that?"

She paused, "Master Skywalker, it is going to take a long time to deal with his lungs. Even once they are operated on or replaced, they will have to be taken out of service completely to allow them time to heal. The thigh muscles will almost definitely atrophy in that time."

"How?.. How can he not use his lungs?"

She sighed, "A much bigger machine." She paused, "Oh, and you are going to have to work on his attitude. He is extremely depressed. No will to live whatsoever. He's going to have to fight to stay alive. He won't if he doesn't care."

Luke paused, nodding hopelessly at the floor. Finally he spoke, "Um, doctor, what exactly are his injuries?"

She started pointing again, "Well, there is a lot of damage, of varying age and severity. The worst… which I would guess is what put him in that suit, is about twenty years old. That's first degree burns on about 95% of his body. That is also when his lungs were damaged, smoke and heat inhalation and so on. Three of the prosthetics are also from that same time."

The young man glanced at her, "What about the forth?"

"That one is much older, probably from the Clone Wars, though at that age I can't be sure."

Luke nodded, "Okay. That's it?"

She shook her head, "He has other injuries, of various ages like I said. These are… I don't know what caused them. Electrical burns mainly, but the rest…" She sighed, "From the regularity of them, and the similar types of injuries, I would say he was tortured. Frequently."

Electrical burns… The memory of the Emperor's Force lightning filled his head. Had his father been subjected to that on a regular basis? Luke felt his hatred for the Emperor increase and hastily shoved it down. He paused, "So, what should I do?"

"You should probably focus on the depression, try to give him a reason to wake up in the morning."

"How do I do that?"

The doctor shrugged, "It doesn't matter. It doesn't have to be something big, or even something ongoing. It can be anything… you're going to show him that holo he wants to see. Just something to keep him going for another day."

Luke nodded.

* * *

Anakin looked up as the door opened, his expression turning to confusion as he found he didn't recognize the visitors, "Who are you?"

The small group fanned through the room, one staying by the door to keep watch. One, a man, spoke, "All right we need to do this fast. Get him out and dealt with before anyone comes back."

 _Oh no._

"Blast! He is an ugly one, isn't he?"

They approached, surrounding him, getting started removing the tubes and wires covering him. One tugged at the IVs in his upper arm, trying to remove them.

Anakin spoke, "No, no. That's not going to work. Trust me, I've tried." He yelled in pain as the person gave a mighty yank, ripping the needles from his arm. Finally they pulled the tubes from his nose, dragging him from the bed.

A girl, a female rodian, spoke, "Where can we take him? We don't want to be found, after all."

The first one replied, "Don't worry. I have a nice, out of the way storage room all picked out." He glanced at Anakin, "We'll do to this filth what they should've done when they first got their hands on him. Come on."

Desperately he called through the Force as they carried him out, trying to reach his son, " _Luke! Luke, help me!"_ With it he projected his pain and fear, hoping that he would hear it.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Hello everyone! Thanks for reading, and for the follows, favorites, and reviews. I love you! **ReySkywalker112** : Anakin's injuries are grave… he burned almost to death, lost three limbs, and never got any proper treatment for any of it. I mean, come on. They didn't even put him under for surgery, they just let him lie there and scream and writhe while they got his melted-on clothes off and attached the prosthetics. I don't care if the scene was dramatic, it doesn't excuse Sidious' actions. Anyway… read on for spoilers. **JOUNOUCHI sama** : 1 -Who knows what is going on on Kamino right now. At the very least it became part of the Republic during the Cone Wars which now puts it under the jurisdiction of the Empire. Moreover, the Rebellion is still fighting. They unfortunately cannot take so much time to send a ship, containing some of their best people and their high level Imperial intelligence, all the way out past the outer rim, not to mention pay whatever exorbitant fee the Kaminoans would demand. Anyway, it's a question of convenience and political viability. Hope this helps. 2- Rex has work to do. Anakin isn't going anywhere; he's coming as soon as he has time. **StormSkye** : These are impulsive young people who lost their families to the Empire like Ezra, Luke, and Leia did. They don't like what's going on, and they feel Vader needs to answer and pay for his actions. **ILDV** : Thanks! **Lunarchronicalsandcockatiels** : Hehe. **Maracollins** : It was Rex. He will be appearing presently. **AnakinandPadme** : You're wish is my command! **YellowSpeedyNinja** : Thank you. I try. As for Ahsoka… spoilers! **Kondoru** : I think it's likely enough that we cannot dismiss the possibility. I agree, Anakin deserved to be saved, and he would be so incredibly sad if he knew what his grandson did in his name. Someone just needs to slap Kylo. I vote Leia.

I do not own Star Wars or its characters.

* * *

Chapter 5

* * *

" _Luke! Luke, help me!"_

The voice suddenly rang out in his head, easily drowning out the droning voice of the doctor as she continued detailing problems. A terrified, desperate voice, accompanied by pain. His father's voice. Obviously something was very wrong. Luke made his excuses to the woman and hurried down the hall.

He froze as he entered the sterile room, taking in the empty bed and hanging wires, before starting to back out, "Oh no."

He had to find him.

* * *

" _Don't fight, Ani." His mother's face was frightened and troubled, her hand gripping his shoulder hard enough to hurt. "No matter what your master demands or does to you, do not fight or antagonize him. Don't rebel. Don't draw attention to yourself. It is the best way to keep yourself safe."_

 _The seven-year-old stared at her, "What's wrong, Mom? Why are you saying this?"_

 _She paused, a great weight settling over her face, as though hesitant to say the words and make them real, "I've- I've heard rumors. Whispers. I think Gardula might… sell us."_

 _Anakin's face fell, "No. No, she wouldn't. She can't do that!"_

" _Yes she can, Ani. She owns us. There is nothing we can do." Shmi's expression was placid and calm, despite the wrinkle in her brow revealing her distress._

 _The child was more agitated, "But we'll still be together, right? You'll… you'll still be with me?"_

 _The wrinkle deepened, "I don't know, Ani."_

" _They wouldn't separate us?!"_

" _I don't know what's going to happen." She wrapped the terrified boy in an embrace, closing her eyes as she held him, savoring the precious moment in the face of an uncertain future. A tear rolled down her cheek. Finally she spoke, "You're going to have to be very brave, whatever happens. Promise me, Ani. If we're separated. Promise me you will do as you're told; that you won't fight back when you're older."_

" _I promise, Mom," said the tearful voice. The small boy buried his face in the woman's shoulder, clinging to her as if his life depended on it._

Anakin grunted in pain as he was dropped roughly on his stomach on the hard floor of the storeroom. This was shortly followed by a muffled groan as one of his bearers delivered a sharp kick to his middle.

"Darth Vader," said the one he guessed to be their leader, strolling around his prone body as Anakin struggled to raise his head enough to look at his face. "Most impressive. The bane of the galaxy for my entire life, and you manage to get off scot-free." He paused, raising his voice, "You're a mass-murderer and a war criminal. What's the kill count? Millions? Billions? How many have you killed? You have organized genocides, burned planets to the ground. Well, you may have fooled our command into thinking you're worth saving, that you can help us, but justice still found you. Do you have anything to say?"

Anakin stared up at him, memories of the past two decades flooding over him. Finally he shook his head. He wouldn't give these people the satisfaction of begging. He didn't deserve mercy anyway.

 _Mercy is for the weak._ A small voice in his head spoke, reminding him of the code he had lived by for half his life. He would not show weakness, any more than he ever had when tortured by his master for failing a mission. _Weakness cannot be tolerated,_ it said again.

Another voice, so long buried in his mind he had almost forgotten its existence, spoke up, suggesting that perhaps showing pain and remorse wasn't wrong after all, and perhaps weakness wasn't so bad, but it was quickly stifled by the insistent yelling of the other. He would not cry out, and he would not apologize. Let them torture, it was what he deserved. Maybe they could get some closure and peace by their revenge.

The girl spoke, "Shouldn't we restrain him?"

"Why? Does he look like he's going anywhere?" The man turned back to Anakin, "Hey, ugly, who was it took your legs?" His tormentor's mocking expression turned to a hatful sneer, "Did someone get lucky? Was it one of your victims, you filthy murderer?"

Anakin was silent, tears escaping his control to glisten in his eyes, a kind, loving face filling his mind, "Yes."

* * *

"He was just in here!" The twins and Han stood in the med-bay room, Luke pacing, searching desperately for clues, clearly panicking. "I couldn't have been gone more than an hour, and he's vanished!"

Han spoke, "Well, don't worry. He has no legs, one hand, and he breathes through a tube; the guy can't have gone far."

"I shouldn't have left him! If I had been here this wouldn't have happened."

Leia shook her head, "You don't know that. Luke, you cannot put your own life on hold because something might go wrong. You can't be here every minute."

"But I should have been here! It's been less than a week and already I've gotten complacent."

Han sighed, breaking in, "I'll go check the hall and nearby rooms."

"Don't bother; I already did!"

"Well, where could he have gone?"

Luke paused, holding one of the IV lines in his hand, "He didn't." He dropped it, walking quickly towards the door, "He was taken. We need to find him, now."

* * *

Anakin's body arched as electricity surged through him, emitting from a powerful taser one of them had brought. His ribs ached and he suspected they were injured, but it was difficult to tell through the rest of the pain. The bout ended and he gasped a few breaths, ignoring the searing pain that came with each inhale, forcing oxygen inside himself to stay conscious. He could do this; he could withstand it. Their puny taser was nothing compared to Force lightning, and all their other efforts could not possibly equal one minute of the time he had spent alone and unmedicated, contemplating his transgressions when his master was displeased. He gritted his teeth, determined not to give them the satisfaction of screaming, and convulsed as another jolt hit him.

Anakin grinned as it subsided, laughing barkingly, "You call this pain? This? You know nothing of pain."

The girl spoke, "I thought you said that thing was strong. He doesn't seem to care much."

"Don't worry. We will see him break."

Another stepped forward, obviously agitated and angry, "I want to see him beg." He kicked him, Anakin stifling a moan as his foot collided repeatedly with his already hurt ribs, "Go on! Beg! Beg you miserable filth! Beg for your life like my parents did!"

Anakin gazed up at him dazedly, "Your parents?"

"They weren't even your enemies! They were imperial officers! Something went wrong on a mission, they made a mistake, so you killed them! Strangled them. Why? How could you?"

His expression didn't change, "I have no memory of your parents."

The boy stared at him, visibly running the gambit of emotions from shocked to horrified to furious. He grabbed the taser from its owner's stunned hands, firing bolts in rapid succession. Anakin writhed and moaned, determined not to cry out in his agony.

His lungs were protesting the rough treatment. It was getting progressively harder to breathe and he knew he had to get processed oxygen soon or he would die. Finally he gave up his stubborn silence, gasping out a single word, "Air…"

One grinned at finally hearing a plea, "What was that?"

"This isn't going to last very long if you don't give me air!"

The leader tauntingly held up an oxygen mask, "What, this?" He chuckled as Anakin pleadingly reached for it, "You want this? Huh? Beg."

He could feel his airway closing, the pain of his damaged lungs increasing as they were forced into greater service, "Please… Please…"

The other smiled, "Yeah that's it. Come on, kiss my boot. Kiss my boot if you want it."

Anakin grunted as another one struck him again, tuning out the laughter as he contemplated the distance he would have to travel.

 _Kill them. Reach into the Force. Make them choke on their own stupidity._

 _No._ He struggled to his elbows, using his arms to drag himself forward. The difficulty and slowness of his progress was agonizing, but gradually he moved himself forward, inch by exhausting inch. The man backed up as he approached, but finally Anakin reached his goal, lowering his face to do as he had been ordered.

A jolt of pain went through his head as his tormenter kicked him, then spoke again, "Come on. Don't you want to breathe? Come on, kiss it."

He tried again, not caring for his humiliation or pain, his lungs screaming for air, once more being kicked away.

 _Kill them._

He spoke into the laughter and taunts, croaking a warning, "You have… no idea… what you are playing with."

"Oh yeah? What are you gonna do? Huh? What are you gonna do, big, bad Lord Vader? Kill us? Is that what you're gonna do?" Anakin grunted as another foot connected with his ribs. "Go on then! Show us! Cause you know what I think?" He leaned down, staring hostilely into Anakin's face, "I think you're nothing." He paused, speaking to his friends, "He isn't so tough."

 _They are baiting you. What are you waiting for? They dared you to kill them; show them the power of the dark side. Show them the price of taunting a Sith._

It was getting harder to resist the voice in his head. He begged them, "Please, I don't want to hurt you."

It was now clear that the man holding the mask was the leader, and he turned, dramatically spreading his arms, "Oh, he doesn't want to hurt us! Isn't that kind of him?" His friends' laughter increased, and spurred on by their amusement, he bowed, "Thank you, Lord Vader. How kind of you. I was terrified that you might try to punch my ankle."

"Let's fry him!" one screamed, running forward, rapidly being worked into a blood-lusting frenzy.

The rodian girl stopped him, grabbing his arm as he reached for his blaster, "Not so fast. He's not done yet."

"Don't worry. I'm not gonna kill him." He walked forward, taking out the blaster and aiming it at Anakin's arm, right at the juncture where metal met flesh, "I'm just gonna blast his kriffing arm off."

Anakin stared up at him pleadingly. So this was where it would start to escalate.

"Just what do you lot think you're doing?"

The group paused at the new voice, staring confusedly at the old man in the doorway. One spoke, "Who the blazes are you?"

He stepped forward, barking commandingly, "'Who the blazes are you, _sir.'_ And what do you think you're doing?"

"Do you know who this is?!" There were tears in the young man's eyes as he shakily held the blaster, "He needs to die, he needs to pay for what he's done, the lives he's taken."

"That is not your call to make."

"The sleemo and his white-armored lackeys burned my village! Everyone there died. If not me, then who?"

Anakin's newfound protector paused, "You shinies have exactly ten seconds to leave this room. If you do, I will not pursue this any further. If you don't… well, you'll have me as an enemy in command, and believe me you do not want that." He pointed out the door, "Out. Now." They stared defiantly at him for a moment, then all meekly filed out, cowed by his commanding voice and presence. The man stopped the last one as he walked through, "Give me the oxygen, son."

The other stared at him for a second, then handed it to him and departed.

"Rex?" croaked a weak voice. "Is that you?"

He walked to the pitiful thing on the floor, kneeling by his side, "I'm here, General. Don't worry, they've gone."

Anakin moaned as Rex approached, grinning and laughing faintly as he saw his face, "You got old."

The clone smiled in response, "You don't look too good yourself, sir." Remembering, he pressed the mask to the other's face, pulling the strings over his head and lifting him into his arms, "Come on, let's get you out of here."

A tear escaped Anakin's eye to run down his cheek, "They were right. I'm a monster."

"No, sir. Now just stay quiet. You'll mess up the mask. Don't worry, you'll be home soon."

"You should have left me."

Rex was quiet, "You don't mean that, sir."

The trio ran up as he exited the room. Luke let out a sigh of relief, "Oh, thank goodness."

"Lu…uke?" Anakin moaned out, thinking he recognized the voice, but not quite able to move to see him. The other hastened closer, reaching out a hand to touch him comfortingly, "Yes. Yes, it's me, I'm here. I'm sorry; I tried to get here sooner." The blond man moved to take Anakin, "Here, let me have him."

The old man looked slightly wounded, tightening his grip.

"Please?" Luke had seen the man around, certainly, and had vaguely noticed him on Endor, but he wasn't sure about trusting him.

"It's all right. I can carry him. He's not heavy."

Anakin's muffled voice broke into the conversation, "P-p-please… I can't live like this. Just let me die. Please!"

"Don't worry General Skywalker, it's gonna be fine."

Luke looked confused, "I'm not a general."

"Wasn't talking to you." He paused, nodding respectfully to each in turn, "General Organa. Captain Solo. Master Jedi." He walked off, cradling the pathetic, sobbing figure to him, murmuring comfortingly.

* * *

The clone stood by the bed as droids hooked Anakin back into the life support, the ex-Sith's hand clinging to the other. The trio stood closer to the door, conversing in hushed voices.

"My first question," said Luke, "is 'who is that?'"

Han replied, "I don't know, but he walked up to me after the briefing, asked where he could find him." He raised a hand in defense against Leia's angry expression, "He said he overheard our conversation. I couldn't very well deny it now could I?"

The blond man sighed, "Well, he seems safe enough, in any case."

Leia shook her head, "We have got to be more careful about security. Those people knew exactly where he was and how to get to him."

The taller man smirked teasingly, "Is that concern I hear?"

She huffed, "Don't be absurd. He is a valuable asset. Information… that before took us months of planning, cost lives and resources to collect, we can now obtain in five minutes. Regardless of anything else, that's worth protecting." She paused, shaking her head, "If either of you knew what we went through to get the plans for the first Death Star…" She broke off briefly, remembering, "My opinion of him is irrelevant. He can help us. As long as he answers questions, I'm fine with protecting him."

Han's face was grim, "And if he stops?"

The woman smiled in arsenical sweetness, "Then I'll interrogate him myself."

The men sighed, exchanging significant looks.

"Regardless, we're gonna have to move him. He's not safe here anymore."

The conversation was interrupted by a yell from Anakin as one of the droids nudged him a little too hard in its work.

"Scanners indicate two cracked ribs."

The man closed his eyes in pain, "Yeah, I can feel that."

The robotic voice continued, "Normal protocol suggests immersion in Bacta fluid." It continued to whirr, searching through its databanks for information, "Records for this case… treatment requires live doctor confirmation. Stand by." The small group of droids shuffled slowly out of the room, and the younger group returned to their discussion.

"'Stand by?' Oh thanks. That's helpful." Anakin started to shift more onto his side and groaned, carefully easing himself back as the motion landed on the new injury.

Rex replied, "Don't worry, General. I'm sure it'll all be over soon."

The older man turned his head toward his friend, smiling faintly, "I've missed you." His expression changed, turning pleading and sorrowful, "Please don't leave me." He wondered where Rex had been all this time, but right now there were other things he cared about more.

"I won't. Don't worry." The clone paused, uncertain if he dared to ask, "Sir, Ahsoka. The kid said… you were the last one to see her alive. Please, I need to know. Is she…"

The other sighed, looking down in grief, "I'm sorry. I- I don't know. She was definitely unconscious but I didn't take the time to check if she was dead or not." He looked back up, blue eyes shining apologetically, "She had sliced the helmet open; I had to get back to the ship. So…" He paused, swallowing, having difficulty continuing, "So when she fell… I just got out. I… have no idea if she is alive or dead."

Rex nodded, his gruff, tough-guy soldier's demeanor returning once again to cover his feelings and keep him from getting to emotional. He finally spoke, both had already lowered their voices to avoid being overheard, "It's not your fault."

"Yes it is. I couldn't even check? I couldn't even… take a moment to see if she was all right?"

The clone interrupted, "Sir, if she was alive you may have saved her life. What would you have done if she was alive?"

Anakin raised an eyebrow, once again on the verge of tears. He seemed to spend a lot of time there lately. "And that's supposed to make me feel better?"

Leia's voice broke into the conversation, and Rex turned to find her right behind him, her arms folded, "Hey. We need to ask you some questions." Luke stood near her, Han was gone, having stepped out to answer his communicator.

The older man looked at her sarcastically, "Really? Now? Couldn't this wait? You know, I did just get tortured, or did you miss that part?"

The sweet smile of death had returned, "You know, in most places the torture precedes the questions, not cancels them."

Anakin nodded tiredly, "Point taken. What is it?"

"Who was it?"

He looked up at her, confused, "I'm sorry?"

Luke spoke, "Who kidnapped you? We need to know."

It was Rex that answered, tilting his chin up to look into Luke's face, "Don't worry about it. It was just some kids. Lost everything to the Empire like a lot of people here and wanted some payback. I dealt with them."

Leia responded, looking suspicious, "Why did they listen to you?"

"They were just a bunch of cowards. It's easy to stand up to a man when he can't fight back, little harder when he has a blaster."

Luke spoke, "Well, we need to find out who they were. We have do something with them. They can't just do this. If they think they can they'll do it again… or someone else will."

Anakin broke in, "There will be no consequences. They have a right to their revenge, the same as anyone."

The group stared at him. Luke finally spoke, "Father, revenge is wrong."

The man looked down, a distressed, confused expression settling over his face, "Right… I'm sorry. I… I forget."

Luke eyed him concernedly. He didn't feel the same as he had before. Something was wrong inside him, off, as if the darkness was making a resurgence. He decided to keep a closer eye on him.

Finally Han walked back in, speaking as he returned, "Hey, I just got a call. We're about to rendezvous with the outlying fleet and they want us all on the bridge." He paused, eying Rex, "You too, old man."

The blond man nodded, "All right. I'm coming."

The clone looked at Anakin, "Will you be all right, General?" At his silent assent Rex joined the others and the three men made their way out the door, closely followed by the woman.

"Leia." The girl stopped and turned at the weak voice, her gaze falling on Vader, his left hand held out toward her.

"I need to go."

The man spoke again, pleadingly, "Leia, please, take my hand."

She glowered at him suspiciously, "Why?"

"I want to hold my daughter's hand. Is that so strange?" When she didn't move he continued, "Look, it's not even part of me really. I don't even have any feeling in it. You don't even actually have to touch me. Please?"

 _Well,_ She thought, _He has just been tortured…_ Hesitantly she walked over to him, slowly laying her hand on the cold metal, allowing the hard fingers to close about it. He swallowed then spoke, staring at it, "Thank you." He paused, his eyes coming up to study her face, speaking slowly, "Leia, I hope, someday, you can find it in your heart to forgive me… but if you don't, it's fine. Just know… I could not be more proud of you, and I know that Bail would say the same were he here." He was silent, continuing when she didn't respond, "We don't forgive easily, either of us. Luke doesn't understand this, but I do." He paused, "I understand your distress, and I could not be more sorry for my part in it." Another pause, "Just… just please, Leia, don't let your heart be consumed by hate. I don't want that for you."

She glared at him, "You're just saying that because it's directed at you."

"No. I know… how easy it is… especially when someone has so wronged you, but once you let the darkness in there is no going back." He paused, tears in his eyes, "Even… even if you come back, there is no going back. Please, don't make my mistakes."

She snatched her hand away, "I'm not you. I will _never_ be you." Then she turned and stalked out of the room, chased by his voice.

"I love you!" The door closed and he finished softly, "My beautiful daughter."


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Hello everyone! Sorry for taking so long to update: things have been hectic and there's been some writers block. Anyway, thanks for reading, and a shout out to those who followed, favorited and reviewed. You're all amazing! **Maracollins** : Thanks! Get ready for more, the angst is not toning down anytime soon. **AnakinandPadme** : I'm sorry… I'll go put myself in writer timeout now… **JOUNOUCHI sama** : I do plan for Anakin (with the addition of a few scars) to mostly end up looking like his old self. So… chances are good. I am, however, going to stick with the canon timeline. I'm looking forward to Ben growing up with Anakin around (How might that change his perception of Vader?), plus, can you imagine Anakin's response when Snoke starts hanging around Ben? He's seen this before, after all, with Palpatine and himself. Hope this satisfactorily answers your questions. **Rey Skywalker112** : I think you're going to get answers to some of that in this chapter. The kidnappers do serve a purpose. The Rebellion isn't all sunshine and rainbows, and not everyone is in agreement. At least some of those young people joined the Rebellion specifically to gain vengeance for their families and kill Vader (Those lines ended up cut, sorry). There is good and bad on both sides, and nothing is clear-cut. Thank you! Have a chapter. **StormSkye** : Yep! **Guest** : No offense taken. I admit, I've been too busy to watch any of it for a while, and my characterizations have been getting rusty. I'm glad I'm starting to get it right. I'm glad you enjoyed it, and I hope you stick with me until the end. **SableDreamer** : Welcome! Great to meet you. Have a chapter! All will soon be revealed…

I do not own Star Wars or its characters. Both are property of Lucasfilms and Disney.

* * *

Chapter 6

* * *

Han fell back into step beside Leia as his girlfriend approached, her jaw set and tension pervading her stance and walk.

"Hey. What'd he want?"

Her voice was as tense as everything else, "I don't want to talk about it."

He nodded, "Okay." Silence followed. Finally she spoke, "How dare he bring my father into this! He doesn't know the first thing about my father."

The man found himself confused, "Isn't he-"

She sighed exasperatedly, "My real father."

"Ohhh… King guy."

Suddenly her glare was directed at him, "He wasn't a king."

"But… you're a pri-"

"It's Alderaan. Everyone's drowning in titles."

Han's face screwed up slightly in confused thought, "Didn't House Organa rule Alderaan?"

Leia stopped walking, turning to shout at him softly, "That's not the point!"

"Well what is the point?" he hissed back.

"The point is… The point is…" She glared at his triumphant smirk, "The point is he's trying to use my father to manipulate me, and it's not going to work, and…" She huffed exasperatedly, "Will you just stop defending him?!"

"Who's defending him? I just think you should take a moment to look at the whole picture, that's all." Han paused, "What did he say, anyway?"  
Leia shook her head, "Nothing! Just… he's proud of me and he wants me to forgive him, all that rubbish. I shouldn't be angry because I might end up like him…"

"What's wrong with that?"

She paused, anger building, "NOTHING! Oh, you're impossible."

He followed her as she stormed off, "How about you stop yelling at everyone."

Luke, meanwhile, was talking with Rex, trying to gain further answers on his father.

"You were there. On Endor. Why didn't you step forward then?"

"I didn't know it was him. No one ever told me Vader was him." The clone looked down, shaking his head, "Believe me, if I had known…Well, there's nothing to do about it now."

Luke glanced at him, "So, you two were close."

Rex nodded, "I was assigned to General Skywalker shortly after Geonosis," He paused to explain, "Near the beginning of the war." He sighed, continuing, "I served with him from that point almost until the fall of the Republic. He was a great leader… and a good man. I'm sorry that this happened to him. That he would go down that road… it's incomprehensible to me."

"Why?"

The other paused, "Kid, the Clone Wars were long, hard, brutal fighting. We were going up against droids, separatists, even Sith. There was never anyone with more hatred for the Sith than your father. And he was loyal to the Republic. He never would have willingly betrayed it. Never. I can't imagine what could have made him join them."

Luke tried to offer up a suggestion, "Yoda said hatred is a path to the dark side."

Rather than responding to the statement, as Luke had expected, Rex's eyes widened in a shocked expression, "General Yoda's alive?"

"Um… no. He died a few years ago on Dagobah."

The clone looked sad, "Oh." He paused, "Perhaps hatred was the wrong word. The general was… diametrically opposed to everything they believed or stood for, and he wasn't particularly sorry to see them die, but that went for all of us. However things between them tended to get personal."

The young man looked confused, "What do you mean?"

Rex smiled dismissively, "Oh, pay me no mind. I'm just an old fool, talking on about things past that don't matter."

Luke didn't buy the 'senile old man' act for a second. There was a brightness to his eyes and a sharpness to his look that belied his story, and he watched Luke like he was waiting for him to swallow it. There was something he didn't want to talk about.

He decided to drop it, moving around to another tack, "You're kind of old to have fought in the Clone Wars, aren't you?"

"I'm a lot younger than I look, Kid." He sighed, "Well, we're here. Let's see what was so blasted important." They walked through the blast doors into the bridge, ending the chance for conversation.

* * *

 _Anakin lay on the roasting gravel, pain more intense than anything he had ever felt slicing through him. He felt his brain slowly going into shock as it registered the sudden loss of multiple limbs._

 _He looked up at the man above him, reaching out to him in supplication as tears of pain and regret ran down his face, "Please, help me."_

" _You killed Padme. You killed_ _me_ _. You betrayed everything that we ever fought for. Why would I help you?"_

" _It was a mistake." He plead, "I'm sorry. Please, let me come back. Help me fix this."_

 _Obi-Wan paused, his hair whipping in the dry, volcanic air of Mustafar, "You were my brother, Anakin. I loved you once, but no longer. I loved you, but I could not save you."_

 _He could feel himself slowly sinking down the gravelly incline, the heat drifting up to him gradually growing more intense as he approached the lava. "No! No, please, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Obi-Wan. Please! I'm gonna- I'm gonna burn. Help me. Help me please!"_

 _The other man shook his head, staring stonefaced as Anakin sank too far. The younger man started to scream as tendrils of red and yellow agony began lapping their way up his body to engulf him._

" _Please," Anakin weakly begged, "Kill me. End this."_

 _Obi-Wan looked at the lightsaber in his hand, "You're right. To kill you now would be a mercy." Still dry-eyed and calm, he reclipped the weapon to his belt and looked back into Anakin's eyes. "I am not feeling merciful." Slowly he turned, starting to walk away._

" _Master!" Anakin pleadingly called out one last time, reaching out his remaining hand in supplication._

 _The other turned back momentarily, "You are only a master of evil now, Anakin. You did this to yourself. I cannot help you."_

 _He turned away, making his way up the incline. Then he was gone._

" _No! Come back! Don't leave me!" He screamed once more as the pain became unbearable._

Anakin jolted awake, alone, sobbing and shaking as he tried to calm himself. He closed his eyes, thinking, _It wasn't real. It wasn't real. It wasn't real. It's okay; It wasn't real._

He looked up, freezing as his eyes drifted to a far corner of the dark room. It had only been there for a moment, but for a second he could have sworn he had seen his friend sitting there, staring at him. He had thought he felt his presence. No. No; it was just his imagination. It would be impossible. There was no way.

The moment on the death star flashed before him. Obi-Wan smiling over at Luke, glancing back at him then raising his saber in front of his face, refusing to continue the fight. The bright swing of the Sith weapon as it sliced through him. Anakin felt sick thinking of it.

Memories flooded his mind.

"… _Only a master of evil now, Darth."_

" _I HATE YOU!"_

" _You have allowed this dark lord to twist your mind until now… you have become the very thing you swore to destroy."_

" _You are weak, Old Man."_

" _I will do as I must."_

"I didn't mean it," he sobbed, "I didn't mean it, I swear. I'm so sorry; I didn't mean any of it. Please, come back. I need you… Forgive me… Just stop being dead. Please…"

He tried to compose himself as the door opened, wiping unsuccessfully at his face with his metal hand.

Dr. Gormul turned on the light. "Hey. I just thought I would come check on you." She walked over, speaking as she moved. "The droids said you have some cracked ribs. Is that true?"

"Well, they hurt."

She sighed, leaning down and pulling the open medical shirt out of the way to look at the affected area. "Yeah, you do." She glanced over him, "And I don't like this bruising either. It looks like they beat you up pretty badly."

He moaned slightly at her gentle proding, but spoke, "What are you going to do? I'm going in a Bacta tank, right?"

She didn't respond for a moment, pausing thoughtfully, "No… There's no way to get you in there with all the equipment. I'll have to figure out something else."

"Well, maybe you could hurry up."

She gazed at him pityingly, "I'm so sorry this happened. Not everyone is like that, I promise."

Anakin didn't meet her gaze, "It's okay. They were right to do it. I don't mind."

The sorrowful expression continued, but she retrieved a pad from her coat, "By the way, while I'm here, I was looking over your scans and I found something strange." She held it out to him, "There seems to be a foreign object in your body cavity? I was hoping you maybe knew something about it?"

He looked at the picture, speaking musingly after a moment, "So that's where it is…"

The doctor looked questioning, "What is it?"

Anakin motioned dismissively, "It's nothing to worry about. Just a chip; don't bother with it."

"A chip to do what?"

He seemed slightly defensive, "It's nothing. It contains some circuitry, a tracker, and a small amount of explosive."

She waved her hands incredulously, "Wait, wait. Let me get this straight… You have a bomb inside you."

"Just a very small one. It wouldn't cause any property damage if it went off, I promise."

"Well, what would it do?"

"It probably wouldn't even break the skin. It would just tear me up nicely inside, and then I would die, slowly and in horrible agony, over the course of about ten minutes. Nice and neat and scary." He continued, muttering too softly for her to hear, "Hutts like neat and scary."

"And you say it's nothing?" She paused, trying to process the casualness with which he spoke of such things, "You… you sound like you've seen this happen."

He sighed, not looking at her, "I have."

She paused again, uncertain that she really wanted to know more, "When? During the Clone Wars? Or under the Empire?"

"Oh, it was long before that."

"When?"

He paused, "I don't want to talk about it."

She nodded. Of course not. Who would?

"Don't worry. It was deactivated years ago… when I first came to the Jedi. The doctors on Coruscant all thought it would be too dangerous to try to remove it. It might go off if they messed with it, that sort of thing." He paused, gazing pleadingly up into her face, "You won't risk it, will you? You'll leave it alone?"

The woman stared, sighed, then nodded, "I'll leave it alone."

Anakin visibly relaxed, "Thank you."

The door opened once more and Luke walked in, "Hey. How's it going in here?"

She was still staring at the injured side. "I wonder…" Then she stood and left, a thoughtful look on her face.

The young man paused, "How are you?"

Anakin grunted softly then looked down, thinking, "Luke, what did you tell them about me?"

"What do you mean?"

He paused, "Han forgave me much more easily than I would have expected. What did you tell them?"

The young man paused awkwardly, "Um… I told them the truth."

"Which is?" Did he even know the whole truth?

His eyes shifted, determinedly not meeting Anakin's, "The Emperor had you under mind control. You managed to break free and save me."

His father looked down, sad and disappointed, "That isn't the truth."

Luke's voice grew insistent, a shriller edge creeping into his tone, "Yes it is! At least… from a certain point of view…"

Anakin stared at him, "From- _From a certain point of view?_ What does that even mean? What sort of garbage have they been filling your head with, anyway? The truth is not subjective. Who told you that? Who trained you?" He sounded like a disgruntled parent ready to call his son's school to complain, only asking for names so he would know who to yell at.

"But I thought Yoda was a great Jedi knight."

" _Master Yoda told you that?!"_

"Um… No… He trained me. Ben told me that."

Anakin paused, confused, "Who?"

Luke paused, "Obi-Wan…? When I knew him he was Ben Kenobi."

"Ben… A known alias and his own last name?! What was he thinking?! We could have found him! He could have gotten himself killed-" He froze at the word, realizing what he just said, and then burst into tears.

The young man hesitantly approached, Anakin continuing to sob.

"Are you okay?" Luke remembered sitting in Ben's hut, listening as the old man told him about his father. He had said they were close… but here was the confirmation, in a miserable blubbering heap before him.

 _And he was a good friend._ Luke didn't think he had completely realized the full meaning of those words until now.

Anakin spoke through tears, "And… and he told you the truth depends on your point of view?"

Luke nodded.

"What _exactly_ did he say? What was the context?"

The other looked down, deciding he wouldn't say anything about the ghost. He didn't need his father to think he was crazy. "Well… um… I asked him about…" He sighed, "About my father, what happened, and… well…"

Anakin gazed at him, desperately craving news of his friend, "Well? What did he say? I know he didn't tell you the truth."

Luke looked up, "He told me my father was a hero. A great Jedi of remarkable ability, a close and loyal friend on whom he could always rely."

Anakin stared at him. After everything that had happened, _that_ was the way Obi-Wan had spoken of him? Why? What had he done that could possibly deserve such fondness?

He hesitated, "Was there… was there anything else?"

"He said you were betrayed. That Vader, his apprentice, joined the Emperor, betrayed, and murdered you." Luke paused as Anakin's heartbroken, guilty expression deepened, eyes closed and head bowed. He hastened to continue, trying to pull some sort of positive outcome from the conversation, "Look, I know… it really was you, but I think it was true in a way. So is this. You and Vader may as well be different people for how different you are. And this a chance to start over. You can put it all behind you; get a blank slate. Just… leave it the way it is." He moved, starting to pace.

The door opened and the doctor returned, a wet bandage in her hand, "Okay. Let's try this." She situated herself beside Anakin and placed her hand on his back, urging him to lean forward, "Yeah, that's it." She started wrapping the soaked, dripping bandages around his ribcage, starting well below and ending well above the injured area.

The patient groaned faintly, "What are you doing?"

She sighed, not pausing in her work, "You cannot be put in a tank, so I soaked some bandages in bacta fluid and we'll see if they work."

"' _We'll see?'_ You don't know?"

"Hey, you're forcing me to improvise. I'm doing my best here." She tucked in the end and stood, preparing to leave, "Now, that should work. If it does, it will really simplify your treatment so don't mess with it."

Anakin nodded, "Sure."

"Okay. I'll be by to check on your progress in a couple of days. Hopefully it will have cleared up by then. I want to move ahead with surgery on your lungs, but I can't do that until we've dealt with these new injuries."

Luke broke in, "Oh, right. I've been meaning to tell you. Um, apparently he told Han he has some brilliant plan for taking out that base, so they want to have that briefing before any surgery too."

She sighed, "Great. Just what we need. More delays. Well, see how quickly they can get it out of the way, okay?"

The young man nodded, "Sure. I'll see what I can do."

She nodded, glancing from one to the other, "Okay. Well, I'll get out of your way. There should be some droids around if you need anything." As she finished talking she rose, departing the room.

With her gone, Anakin spoke slowly, trying to make his point clear as he continued the discussion she had interrupted, "Luke, I spent half my life as a Sith. I think that I should at least be honest about where the blame falls."

The other turned, a determined, insistent note edging his voice, "Well, it doesn't fall with you. All right?"

"Then who?"

Luke threw up a frustrated hand, "I don't know… the Emperor?"

Anakin paused, "He didn't force me to turn. I made a choice, and it was the wrong one."

His son gazed at him, "Then why did you do it? You must have known what he was. You must have known what he was asking you to become. Why did you turn?"

Anakin sighed, a weight settling over his face, "I thought I had to."

Luke shook his head, "I don't understand."

The other sighed, going quiet. Finally he muttered, "I'm not ready for this." His voice returned to normal volume, "I'm sorry. I'm… kind of tired. Um… do you think I could just be alone for a while?"

Luke paused, then nodded, "Okay." He approached the door, pausing a moment in the open doorway, "Just… call if you need anything, all right?"

Anakin nodded, the door closed, and he was left once more alone with his thoughts.

* * *

Back on the bridge Luke had wandered away from, the communications officer patched through an incoming hail.

"Unknown ship, identify yourself."

An obviously disguised voice sounded through the space, "This is Fulcrum, requesting docking."

The room relaxed. One of the Fulcrum agents returning from a mission wanted to dock. Nothing worrying. There was a pause, then the voice continued, audibly troubled, "Are you all all right over there?"

The comm officer responded, "Explain yourself, Fulcrum."

"Are you in trouble? Do you require assistance?"

"…That's a negative, Fulcrum. We're all fine here. Why do you ask?"

Another long pause. "Nothing. Never mind. For a second I thought… it doesn't matter. Requesting permission to dock."

He nodded, "Permission granted, Fulcrum. Fly to the main hanger on the command ship."

"Acknowledged. Thank you."


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Hello everyone! Sorry for the wait. Anyway, thank you for reading, and thank you to all of you who followed, favorited, and reviewed. **Laureas** : I'm glad you're enjoying it! Leia, I will admit, has a long way to go. We will be getting more insight into both her journey and Anakin's in this chapter and the next. They have a lot to work through, and I doubt real healing is going to happen anytime soon. As for Obi-Wan… he has some problems of his own. Basically everyone just needs some counseling. A lot of counseling. Oh yeah, this chapter is fuuunnnn… **maracollins** : Thank you! I hope I live up to expectations. **Stormskye** : You'll like this chapter. **ReySkywalker112** : I think you absolutely know who that is. :) :) There is a lot of baggage that is going to make forgiveness hard for her, some of which we will explore in this chapter. Yes, poor Anakin! Let's hope he can fix things and get a happy rest of his life. **Fred** : I think having the "old gang" back together will absolutely help. People who know him and believe in him, who he has a past with before Vader. As far as the Rebellion brass, a lot of them did fight with him in the Clone Wars, though whether those memories will temper their opinion of him, or render his betrayal more personal will depend on the individual. I do think they are going to be very cautious about allowing him into any additional intelligence. Gaining their trust will not be particularly easy. **AnakinandPadme** : Oh yeah. Sooo much angst. **Kondoru** : I agree, though part of the problem is that the Sith do have a moral code. Completely messed up and turned around and based on strength and personal gain, but a code nonetheless. They do have things they believe in. Although, yeah, definitely very little free will involved in his case. As far as the tracker, who knows if he will tell anyone. Anakin always has been extremely closed up about that part of his past, and I can't see that changing just because he has a lot more trauma piled on top of it. **Ichigo urahara shihoin** : I think you'll be finding that out very soon. **Disney Syndulla** : Haha! I'm glad you liked it. (I enjoyed that line too) I really loved how Old Republic gave us insight into the Alderaanian culture. Anyway… **Zireael07** : Glad you enjoyed. Have a chapter!

I do not own Star Wars or its characters.

* * *

Chapter 7

* * *

 _Deep in the first death star, in a dramatically lit interrogation room, the "questioning" of the nineteen-year-old princess was entering its fourth hour._

 _An artificial voice emitted from the dark figure, "I will ask this once more: Where are the stolen plans? We know your team acquired them and that a handoff occurred in which they were placed aboard your vessel. You jettisoned several apparently empty escape pods when your ship was detained. We have located these pods, however the plans were not found in any of them. Where are they?"_

" _I will tell you nothing!" Leia spat the words back at his face, leaning forward as far as she could in her restraints. "I am a galactic senator! You can't do this!"_

" _Can't I?"_

 _Tarkin strolled casually into the room, "May I ask how this is progressing?"_

" _You may," Vader replied, his irritated glare still fixed on the determined young woman before him. Her glare matched his invisible one, and the battle of wills raged between the two Skywalkers as the Moff impatiently waited for an answer. "Well? Have you learned anything from her?"_

" _I said you might ask. I did not say I would answer."_

 _Tarkin sighed, "So, nothing. What about the mind probe? Have you broken her resistance to it yet?"_

 _Vader wished he would shut up and leave him alone, but clearly his handler had no intention of going anywhere. Maybe a display of his ability… a hint of the wrath that could fall on the Moff should he continue to annoy the Sith. "The Alderaanians have techniques to resist it. We will have to wait for results by that road. However… it is not the only way to get information."_

 _He reached out his hand near her head, forcibly entering her mind to search. The girl sobbed and screamed in agony at the invasion but the vicious onslaught continued regardless, Vader ripping through, searching for any hint, any clue of the droids' whereabouts._

 _Finally he withdrew, frustrated. How could this be? He could find no sign of his object, yet she must know. She must! There was no other way._

" _What… did you just… do to me?" Leia gasped, involuntary tears shining on her cheeks as she recovered._

 _Tarkin ignored her, to the other man's annoyance appearing unimpressed, "Well, Lord Vader?"_

 _He paused, "I think we must try again. It is buried deep in her mind."_

" _I don't know anything!" The girl yelled. Then she insistently leaned towards the Sith. "While you're interrogating me and attacking innocent relief convoys, those plans are on their way back to the Rebellion. Why don't you go find them instead of wasting time here?"_

" _When I want your opinion I will ask for it." He shortly replied, then turned toward Tarkin, "Don't you have something better to do? I believe we have a meeting shortly. Shouldn't you go arrange it?"_

 _The men locked gazes, and in the end Tarkin stood and left._

" _That's right." He muttered too softly for the voice modulator to pick up, "Do as you're told." He looked back at Leia, "Now, where were we?"_

 _Tears shone on her cheeks, and as she spoke she blinked away more, "What sort of monster are you?"_

" _A highly skilled one."_

 _She stared at him, "You're psychotic."_

 _Vader stepped closer, grasping her chin in one hand and pressing her head back against the vertical table, his face inches from hers. He smiled under the mask, "I know."_

* * *

"No… Stop… Please…" Anakin moaned in his sleep, tossing and turning as much as the life support allowed.

"Please… Leia!.. No… Don't…" A dark figure moved concernedly from the corner of the room, approaching the bed as the nightmare worsened.

As he did so memories flooded over Obi-Wan of earlier years, of the young boy whose traumatic nightmares he had so often soothed. He could not hold him now, as he had then. Any attempts to do so merely resulted in his hand passing ethereally through the other's body. However he reached out through their bond in the Force, attempting to calm and comfort his padawan's troubled mind. "Sleep, little one." He whispered, "Do not fear. All is well. By morning it will pass."

"O…Obi…" Anakin whimpered in his sleep, one hand reflexively straying towards his master, subconsciously seeking comfort there as he had so many times before. Despite this, the distressed, tense lines in his forehead eased at the onslaught in the Force and he fell into a more relaxed sleep.

Obi-Wan nearly wept as he watched him. The wonderful, sweet, cherubic boy that he had raised from childhood lay before him mutilated and broken, needlessly, he now saw. Anakin's actions had not been those of an irredeemable monster driven mad by power. They were the desperate flounderings of a frightened child crying out for help. Flounderings that he had ignored.

If only he had done more, he thought. If only he had reached out! Perhaps Anakin would now be all right, perhaps he would be well and standing beside him, fighting the Empire instead of lying here recovering from it. Obi-Wan had had a chance to save him, and he had thrown it away. He could have saved him, he knew it!

Instead he had driven his friend further into the cold embrace of the dark side, left him screaming to burn to death. Why hadn't he done more? He could have retrieved him after that fateful leap, before the lava claimed him, ignored the screams of pain and promises of revenge and taken him somewhere safe, had Padme help him drag his friend back to the light.

"This is all my fault. I am so sorry, Anakin. I failed you. I'm so sorry."

He drew back as the other man stirred, fearing discovery. He couldn't let him lie here alone when everyone left, but he also couldn't bear to talk to him. Not yet. He didn't know if he ever would.

He quickly disappeared as the door opened.

* * *

Ahsoka shut off the communicator and slumped back in her seat, exhaling. She had felt a shift in the Force as she entered the system, a distant presence she had thought felt like Vader. She had been frightened, worrying that the fleet was under attack, however command had said they were fine. It had to be her imagination. Vader was dead anyway, both Sith had died on Endor. She had learned when she awoke to celebrating in the streets, and had retreated from the celebrants to mourn. Now she was returning to the Rebellion. She might as well; it was over. Anakin was dead; all her efforts to find him after Malachor had failed; he had died on the dark side. So what was she feeling?

She sat up, determinedly flying toward the fleet. She couldn't learn anything sitting here.

* * *

It took her some time to extricate herself from the waiting officers. They were standing in the hanger when she arrived, all hungry for a briefing from their long-missing agent. Eventually she escaped, wandering through the ship in pursuit of the mysterious presence that grew ever stronger. Finally she stood outside the door to one of the med-bay rooms, hesitating. Did she really want to know what was inside? It felt like Vader, but… not. Lighter for one thing. There was still so much dark, but the she could feel light breaking through.

The door opened on its own, the sensor becoming aware of her presence, but she didn't move. She couldn't. She had waited so long for this, but now that she was here she wasn't sure that she was ready to know. Her last meeting with him ran through her head, the horrible gold eyes that had looked at her with such hate, his voice, not the suit's, saying so matter-a-factly that he would kill her. Did she even want to know what that suit had concealed? Why he was wearing it? _Assuming it's him in that room_ , she hastily added. She had thought he was dead and been proven wrong again and again… she just couldn't bring herself to get her hopes up now. It couldn't be him in there, he was dead. And besides, if it was him, they never would leave this room free of guards. It was just her overactive imagination. It had to be.

But that nagging feeling refused to leave her. She could feel Anakin's presence in the Force, no matter how much she told herself it was impossible. Something was in there, and she had to know what. So she steeled herself, sighed, and entered.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Hello everyone! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I hope you like your present of heartbreak and tears. I promise things will get better soon, this just has to happen first. **Maracollins** : Thank you! I'm glad you liked it! **Stormskye** : :( We will be getting more in the future, just warning you. :) **Anakin and Padme** : Hehehe… I hope it is resolved satisfactorily. **skywalkerangela5** : Is this long enough for you? **.21** : Here you go! Hope you enjoy! **ichigo urahara Shihoin** : I addressed yours in our private message. Thank you so much for your review. **Disney Syndulla** : Hope you like crying. **Vi-Violence** : Thanks! Have a chapter! **Yellow Speedy Ninja** : Oh yeah, Ahsoka has _lots_ to do in this fic. **Asj Johnson** : ch. 4: Exactly. Whereas Anakin is always in such intense pain that fluctuations in level only change it by a number or two. He really doesn't care, and he did help them a little (helpfully informing them that the IVs were well secured) still, there are easier and less painful ways to die than being tortured to death in a hidden corner somewhere. By the way, in the next chapter, when he tried to get the oxygen he wasn't trying to live, he was trying to make sure he lived long enough that they were satisfied. That entire scene was him helping them. Plus a whole lot of inner battling between Anakin and Vader. Ch. 7: And here it is at last! A Christmas present for all my faithful readers! **Rex Vong Thrawn** : I'm sorry, there will not be any Anisoka in this fic. I do not personally ship it, but more importantly I think their relationship is too parental/siblings for them to see each other that way. Also Anakin has some other stuff going on that makes it highly unlikely that he will be considering any new romantic attachments. The only romance I see coming anytime soon is Han/Leia. As far as Rebels… Hera is confirmed alive and involved with the Rebellion as of Rogue One and will be appearing shortly; most likely Chopper will as well. Everyone else we have no idea, and I find it particularly unlikely that Kanan and Ezra survived given Luke is supposed to be the last of the Jedi. Sorry. Hope this chapter makes up for it.

I do not own Star Wars or its characters. Go talk to Disney and Lucasfilms.

* * *

Chapter 8

* * *

The first thing Ahsoka became aware of as she entered was the soft beeping of monitors. The room was dark, though she could tell it would be painfully white when lit. She could see the bed, or tell generally where it was by the machine lights, and she could dimly make out its sleeping occupant, but she couldn't see much else so she decided to turn on the light to see clearly. She felt around on the wall for the control.

Once she had done so she looked over at the bed. Instantly her eyes widened in shock and she had to cover her mouth with her hand to stop herself from screaming at the sight that confronted her.

 _What did they do to you?_ she thought. Slowly she approached the bed, unwilling even as she did so to admit the creature's identity. How could it be him? He looked like a corpse, a bruised, battered, horribly pale, gruesomely murdered corpse. The only recognizable thing was the silver and gold prosthetic on his right arm, now missing its hand and with protruding wires. Ahsoka sat down in the chair next to the bed, then reached out a shaky hand towards it, her lip trembling as she finally gripped the cool metal.

Was this how he had been turned? She had read histories and heard stories of such things happening in the Old Republic, before the Sith disappeared, of Jedi kidnapped and tortured until they fell into pained madness and turned. Yes, it had to be. Anakin was nothing like Dooku; he never could have been swayed with promises of power, he was uninterested in it except as a tool.

And she had left him there, to suffer and kill; left him to serve as Palpatine's slave. She wanted to kick herself. However, at least he was safe now. He was safe and Sheev Palpatine, or Darth Sidious, or the Emperor, or whatever the blazes he wanted to call himself was dead. The real monster was gone. That was what was important.

Finally she collapsed forward, resting on his torso as she wept in mixed grief and relief.

"Ahsoka?"

A shocked voice reached her ears, and she looked up to see confused, pain-filled blue eyes staring at her. Ahsoka grinned joyfully through her tears and surged upward, throwing her arms around her master's neck with utter disregard for the tubes and wires that covered his chest.

He grunted slightly at the sudden contact, "Ahsoka, careful, you're going to-" One of the monitors started beeping hysterically as her enthusiastic greeting dislodged its taped-on sensor.

"See what I mean?"

The woman was too happy to care, and the slight whine in his voice only made it more familiar, "It's you, it's really you."

A comforting hand came up to lay on the back of her head, "Yeah, of course it's me."

Tears continued to drip onto his bare chest as her smile dropped, "I thought you were dead. After Endor I thought… I heard…"

The other, damaged arm stole around to hold her back, "Shh… It's okay…" Anakin smiled faintly, "Come on, it's just an exploding space station. You should know by now it takes a little more than that to kill me." He paused, "Please don't cry. Trust me, this room has already seen enough tears."

"What did they do to you?"

A sad smile returned to barely curl his lips, "It's okay. I promise I don't normally look this bad; I've had a bad day."

"What exactly do you classify as a bad day?"

"Some kids wanted revenge. It's fine, really."

 _What is wrong with you?_ "How is this fine?"

"Well, I hurt them. Why wouldn't they desire justice?"

Ahsoka was silent. Clearly he was extremely messed up and confused. "I missed you." She paused, "I'm so sorry. I should never have left."

He was quiet, "It's not your fault."

"What is it like? Being back, I mean."

Anakin paused, "It's-" He sighed, "It's like I've woken from a long sleep, only to find the dreams were real and all my worst nightmares have come to pass."

"Well, it's over now. And we'll fix what's happened."

He was quiet for a long time, "And… you know how sometimes you wake up and you're still tired? And all you want is to just relax and go back to sleep?" He paused, "I'm tired, Ahsoka; I'm so tired. I just want to rest so badly. But if I give in people will die. I can't let that happen."

She smiled reassuringly, putting a hand on his shoulder, "Well don't worry." The expression turned to a joking smirk, "I'll bring you enough caf to stay awake."

His returning smile was weak, a token of appreciation of her attempt at humor.

She paused, "Hey, uh, are you hungry? I was thinking of getting something to eat. I could get you something at the same time. Medbay food always stinks, after all."

He shook his head, "No, I'm okay. You go on."

They exchanged a familiar, loving smile, then Ahsoka moved to walk towards the door.

Then she stopped. There was something off, and looking down her gaze fell on an empty slot on the side of her belt. Her eyes widened and she put her hand to feel it before turning around. "Anakin, where's my lightsaber?"

The innocence stamped across his face might have been ludicrous in a less serious situation, "It's right there on your belt, isn't it?"

She sighed in frustration, starting to get angry, "You and I both know I carry two. What did you do with it?"

"What makes you think I have it? You probably dropped it somewhere." He wouldn't meet her eyes.

"Don't play dumb with me! I know you took it. Don't bother lying; I can see right through it."

Anakin's expression turned pleading, "I won't hurt anyone, I promise."

 _That's worrying._ "Then what do you want it for? Just give it back."

Silence. Finally he drew the hilt out from under a pillow, holding it contemplatively. "You weren't supposed to notice." He paused, "I'm sorry. No one else has brought weapons close enough; this is my only chance."

A chill ran through her as she realized what he was proposing and she shook her head, "No."

"Vader has to die, Ahsoka. This is the only way."

"No, I won't let you!"

"Do you want to know what sort of man I am? Do you? I _killed_ my best friend, and I was glad. I was thrilled." He paused, a horrible, angry, miserable grimace slapped on his face. Ahsoka just stood there, too shocked to say anything.

He responded to her stunned expression, "Yes. I did that. Cut his head off in fact. Just a few years ago. He came to the death star to rescue my daughter from me… and I repaid him by killing him. I hated him so much…" The grimace faded, and he was left just staring into space, heartbroken, "He didn't even fight me. Just stood there, not doing anything… WHY WOULDN'T HE FIGHT?!" His head dropped into his hand as he started to sob, the saber falling into his lap.

Ahsoka inched forward, hoping to take advantage of the lapse to remove the weapon from the situation.

She hadn't gotten a foot before he snapped back up, tears still streaking his cheeks but otherwise stern and calm, "Don't." She stopped, and he continued, a faint smile returning to his face, "He came to rescue my daughter from me. Oh yes, that's right. I have children. You didn't know that, did you? A boy named Luke and his twin sister. They were hidden at birth for their protection, and I _still_ managed to hurt them. They are here now. Luke's a Jedi. He got me out before the death star blew up." He paused, "Do you still think I am worth saving?"

Her voice came out almost a whisper, dragging itself from beneath all the emotional revelations, "Yes."

Anakin looked incredulous, "Why don't you hate me?! What possible reason could you have?"

"You are not a monster!" she yelled back. "You never were!"

"I tried to kill you!"

"Shut up!" she interjected. "You and I both know you didn't really. If you really tried to kill me I would be dead." she shook her head, "No. You begged me to join you; to embrace the dark side. You tried to save me."

Anakin's tone was dismissive, "You would have been of use to the Emperor."

"No. It was more than that! I came to Malachor thinking it was over, that you were dead, but I found I was wrong. I- I could see you, buried. You tried to protect me, in your own way, you didn't want to kill me."

"That is the worst excuse for attempted murder I have ever heard."

She plead with him, "Obi-Wan thought you were worth saving too, that is why he didn't fight. He knew you were in there; you were just trapped. He didn't know how to get you out and he couldn't hurt you. As far as… as the things you did… it was a matter of survival. You did what you had to."

"No I didn't. Other men did what they had to. Brave men. Men like Erso. Me? I did what was easy."

"Who's Erso?" She paused, "Never mind, it doesn't matter. How was anything you did easy?"

Anakin turned his face away, actively avoiding eye contact.

"All right, fine. Don't explain if you want. But things are changing, Anakin. Already they're different. You're back, the rebellion is winning, the Jedi have a chance at a future in the galaxy. Don't you want to be a part of that? They're going to need you."

"The Jedi? Ahsoka, I think I am probably the last person that should be involved in reviving the Order."

"Why do you say that? You are the last fully trained Jedi, aren't you?"

He shook his head, seemingly retreating back into the pillows, "I'm not a Jedi. I'm… I don't know what I am. But all that stuff… that darkness… it's still inside me. The last thing the Jedi need is Sith influence." He paused, "Luke is trained. He can take care of it."

Ahsoka said nothing, simply raised a doubtful eyebrow.

"What do you expect me to say? I killed them, Ahsoka. I killed all of them. They trusted me, helped me, and I led an army to destroy them." His voice broke as he continued, "There were children in the Temple, younglings who recognized me and begged for my help… I cut them down like it was nothing." His free arm came up to his head, as if to clutch it, "I can still hear their screams." He paused, "And since… I have killed so many. I just want it to end. I want to be free of this pain."

The woman didn't know what to say, "I'm sorry." She inhaled, becoming more sure, "I'm sorry, but that _is_ past. You never have to do that, or think about that again. All that you have to think about now is how to fix it. To do that you have to live."

"Look at this mess! Look at it! You call this worth living? My body is a wreck, my daughter won't even speak to me except to threaten an interrogation, my son only loves me because he's been lied to, because he thinks I'm some sort of idealized, wonderful hero. In reality I cut off his hand and killed… everyone who ever cared about me. Their mother… is dead… I killed her…or…or I think I did. I don't even know what happened anymore. I thought I'd killed them… or my child… I didn't know there were two of them… for so many years. I killed my best friend- I tried to kill you… I… I…" He sighed, gathering his thoughts, "The Sith have to be destroyed. It's for the best." He paused, staring fixedly at the weapon, "Please, remember me as the man I once was, not the monster that I've become."

She was growing desperate, "Hey! Hey, listen to me! This isn't the answer. I know everything seems like hell right now, but this isn't the way to get out of it." She paused, holding out her hand, "Please, just give me the lightsaber."

"Just leave, please. I don't want you to have to see this."

"Then don't do it!"

He ignored her, continuing, "Someone will find me soon enough. There's always droids coming through here. You'll get your saber back, I promise. It will all be okay soon."

Ahsoka stepped forward, gesturing, trying to reason with him. "No it won't! You think that I will want that thing back after it kills you? Maybe you'll be out of it, but what about everyone else? Think about your son. Luke will be devastated if you do this."

His expression showed a tiredness and resigned disbelief she hadn't thought possible. "He'll get over it. Give him a few weeks, he will see it is for the best. Luke wants a father, not… this. He wants a family. Maybe with me dead he can finally have it." He paused, "I have been fighting my entire life. I just want to stop. I just want the war to end."

"That war is over," She replied. "This one is ending."

Anakin gave a sort of sad half-smile, "It's never over, Ahsoka. What does it matter which war if the fighting never ends? Whether it's the Clone Wars or the Empire or… or… or Tatooine, it never changes. The stench of death is like a plague and it seems to hover around me. Anyone who gets too close drops dead." He paused, "No one else has to get hurt because of me. I can stop it all right now." He slowly started to move the hilt, turning it to press against his chest. His finger hovered over the button.

"ANAKIN!" She started closer, only to be stayed by a gesture, "Don't come any closer, Ahsoka. I'm sorry, but I can't let you stop me. I have to do this. Vader has to die."

She pled with him, "Vader is dead. You are not him."

"Then who am I?"

She paused. His finger seemed a little further away from the button. Progress. Yes, keep him talking… "You're… Anakin Skywalker. My Master." She smiled nostalgically, "The Hero with No Fear."

His expression fell and he looked even more tired, if that was possible, "That man died with the Republic. I don't even know who he is anymore."

"You don't?" Ahsoka sighed, "Well, let me tell you then. He was a good man… The best, bravest, kindest person I have ever known. He never thought of himself, only those around him and everything he did was for their good. Without him- without his training –I would not be alive today. He is the reason that I have been able to survive in the Empire. He believed in me, always, even when no one else did. He saved my life, so many times and in so many ways. He singlehandedly cleared my name, even when everyone else thought I had gone to the dark side, even though every single piece of evidence told him I was guilty. He…" Her voice broke, "He was my father… my brother… my best friend… and I love him." She paused, "Please… I only just found him again. Don't make me lose him. Don't do that to me again. I can't do it."

He didn't move, only slid his eyes over briefly to look at her and they stood there, breathing heavily, Ahsoka hoping against hope that this would end well.

His face contorted in pained thought and he pushed the lightsaber end closer to his chest, then paused some more.

Finally, still not moving, he released a choked sob, "Ahsoka, help me…"

She carefully inched her way towards him, murmuring comfortingly, trying not to spook him and make him press the button. It seemed an eternity before she leaned over the bed, grasping the tightly held weapon and trying to pull it from his hand.

They struggled briefly, his white-knuckle hold refusing to give, but he released it in the end, tears returning to his eyes as he did so. Ahsoka quickly tossed it to a far corner of the room, closely followed with the other off her belt. Then she climbed on the bed and gathered him into her arms. He flinched and shied away slightly as her comforting hand brushed against the large weal on his scalp.

"I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?"

Anakin shook his head.

"Okay." She paused, and a long silence pervaded the room before she spoke again. "Will you make a deal with me?"

"Hm?"

"Give it six months. Just try to live for six months. I don't mean exist. I don't mean not die. I mean live. If at the end of it… you still want to die… I'll let you. Just, please, give us this chance to prove you wrong."

He sniffed miserably. "Three months," he bargained. "I don't know if I can do even that."

"Okay, stubborn. Three months. At the end of it I promise everything will look better."

He was silent. "Ahsoka, those kids, the ones who kidnapped me? I almost killed them. They don't know. I haven't told anyone, but… I could feel the dark side pulling at me. I almost fell. I was so close." He paused, "It was… it was bad before, but now… It- it's just so strong, and I don't know if I can do it." A tear ran down the man's cheek, "If I am alive I am going to kill someone; it's just a matter of time."

She spoke soothingly, "Don't worry. I'll keep you safe. You don't have to be afraid."

"It wasn't me I was worried about." He muttered.

They were silent for a long time. Finally Ahsoka spoke, "Can you give me a second? I want to get the lightsabers out of here."

Anakin gave a tired nod and she rose, collecting them from the floor and walking a few feet outside the door to deposit them on a table.

Then she collapsed against the wall beside the closed door, sank to a sitting position, let her head fall forward into her hands, and cried. She had pictured the moment she got him back so many times; kept it as an encouragement in her research and tracking the last few years, ever since Malachor when she had gained a clear goal. Still, nothing could have prepared her for this. She would go back in in a few minutes, but her what was left of her world had crumbled and she couldn't let him see her break. He might blame himself for it, and that was the last thing she wanted.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Hello everyone! Sorry for the hiatus, it's been a rough semester. Anyway, thank you for the follows and favs, and thank you for not giving up on me. **Oykk** : I'm sorry. Get ready, there are more feels to come. **Happy Doodle** : Glad you enjoyed! Here's your chapter; sorry it took so long. **Maracollins** : Thanks. That was a hard chapter, in multiple ways. **ATran** : :( Sorry. **TheRealAlgeri** : Aww… thank you. I say go for it. I'll read it. **MarieBloom14** : Thanks! **Jedi Knight 13** : I hope that I can continue to live up to expectations. Have a chapter. **sunburst223** : Yeah, I agree. By the end their relationship certainly wasn't parental, except perhaps minimally. Obi-Wan was much more in that role for both of them. However, in one episode (the arc with the lemur people where Anakin got injured) she definitely referred to him as "the closest thing I have to a father," and I can't ignore that. Having thought about it, by the way, they are more than five years apart. Anakin was 19/20 in the Clone Wars Movie, and Ahsoka couldn't have been more than 12/13, particularly given that she was supposed to be younger than most padawans. Just my thoughts. Seriously though, can you imagine waking up one day and realizing you spent the last twenty years as actual Hitler? I can't even imagine how horrible that would be. **Guest** : chapter 2: Glad you enjoyed! Welcome, I hope you continue to read for a long time to come. chapter 5: Well, I love Rex and Anakin. :) **StormieSkyeGirl** : Yes, poor Ani. Hopefully he'll come around and realize things aren't quite that bad. **Kondoru** : That is an interesting point. And you're right; the dark side isn't going to just go away. There's the disease, and there's remission, with very little hope of a real cure. **Disney Syndulla** : I'M SORRY, SWEETHEART! HERE, LET ME HELP YOU! *hugs* **Wicked R** : chapter 1: Glad you enjoyed! **Guest** : Here it is! Sorry for the wait. **Shadowstorm11** : Aww, you're so sweet. I don't know if I'll ever really be that good, but that would be amazing! **Tevyecat** : Read on! **Guest** : I'm trying. I promise I'll try not to let it go so long again. **Prydain** : Ask and you shall (eventually) receive. Here's the next chapter…

I do not own Star Wars or its characters.

* * *

Chapter 9

* * *

Some time later Ahsoka managed to compose herself and she returned. Anakin's voice stayed her as she entered.

"Stop. Stay there where I can see you; in the light." There was an anxious silence as he seemed to absorb her with his eyes; he seemed to be trying to memorize every single detail. Finally the quiet became too much for the woman and she spoke, "What?"

Anakin huffed softly, a slight, sad, nostalgic smile appearing on his face, "You're all grown up." He paused, "I hadn't noticed." Another pregnant pause, then he spoke, tearfulness threatening at the edges of his voice, "You're beautiful." She hurried over as he broke into tears once more, "I'm so sorry. Please, forgive me."

She reached out to hold him, comforting her master as best she could, "There is nothing to forgive."

Her words did nothing to stop the flow of tears and she cuddled him closer in her arms, muttering soothingly.

"I made you a promise, Ahsoka, a promise. No one would ever hurt you. And I broke it spectacularly."

She shushed him. The last thing she wanted to think about right now was Malachor. In fact, she felt she would be perfectly happy if she forgot the planet existed. They were both quiet for a while, as Anakin tried to calm down and the Togruta just enjoyed having him near her.

"Do you…" he asked, "Do you still meditate?"

"Well, yes, of course."

"I can't seem to manage it. I know that I need to, I know it would help… but I try over and over and it always goes wrong." He paused, "Sith… meditate too… but it's different… and I can't seem to go back."

While she was curious about what he meant by 'different,' lingering on all things Sith seemed like a bad idea. "Do you want me to teach you?"

He smiled in faint amusement, "Could you? Please?"

She laughed a little, "Oh, how the tables have turned. When do you want to start?"

He paused, as if uncertain that she had really agreed, "Now?"

Ahsoka nodded, "Okay." She moved further down the bed, and winced as she noticed the outline of cut-off stumps under the covers. Blast Sidious! That he could have done any of this to another creature… well, it said something about Sith. At least the sane ones. Poor Anakin didn't really have a choice.

She settled in on the empty section of the bed, crossing her legs and facing him. "All right, now, where should we start…"

* * *

Rex heard a crash as he neared the room and hurried inside. As he entered he realized what had made the noise. Anakin, frustrated, had grabbed a dish from beside the bed and thrown it against the wall.

"It's not WORKING!"

A harried-looking Ahsoka responded, her voice tense with forced calmness, "You're too impatient. You need to calm down. Relax and focus on the Force."

"I thought that was the reason I was meditating."

The togruta started to raise her voice, "Yes, but-"

Anakin interrupted her, drawing attention to the new addition to the room, "Rex, look who's come home." Despite his apparent frustration, there was an incredible joy in his eyes.

Apparently he had been noticed. The clone smiled as Ahsoka's gaze turned to him, only with difficulty keeping tears from his eyes. She was alive; he couldn't believe it. A moment later she was across the room and they were wrapped in an embrace. She was back; after so many years she had finally returned. He could see Anakin, staring at them with a nostalgic smile on his face, as if with them all back together the world was somehow righted.

He was slightly startled as he heard a voice whispering in his ear, "I need to talk to you."

They finally pulled apart and her voice returned to normal volume, "It's good to see you, Rex."

Rex emotionally cleared his throat, "You too, kid." He couldn't help but wonder what that had been about, but then he supposed he would find out soon enough.

"What is going on, Rex?" Anakin's voice broke into the moment. "I can't find out anything stuck in here."

He sighed, "Well, they're getting ready to have a briefing, and while that's going on they're going to get this room ready for the strategy meeting to figure out what to do about that base."

The other man's face lit up, "They're taking my recommendations?"

"They're considering it. They are a bit hesitant, but they're willing to listen."

Anakin looked incredulous, "They trust me that much?"

Ahsoka interrupted, "Okay, sorry to interrupt, but what's going on?"

Rex sighed, "You know the base at Gamorra?"

The woman nodded, "You mean the giant death trap? Of course."

"Yeah, well, they're going after it."

She closed her eyes, "Why would they ever do that? Aren't two Death Stars impressive enough?"

The clone replied, "It's too big, too important. It's affecting their efforts and must be neutralized."

Ahsoka spoke, "But what does Anakin have to do with it?"

"He has a plan." The togruta shot him an odd look, and Anakin responded with a look that made him look like a pleading puppy.

"It's a good plan." He said, "It will work; I know it."

Ahsoka paused, then looked at Rex, "Can I speak to you for a moment? Outside?"

* * *

Ahsoka spoke once she had drawn the clone aside, "Are you insane? You can't expect him to do this."

"It was his idea." Rex retorted defensively, "He insisted."

The woman tried to make him understand, "Look. He is incredibly fragile right now. He's- he's hanging onto the light with his fingernails. The last thing he needs is to be involved in the war."

Rex vainly attempted to placate her, "Maybe this is what he needs. It might be cathartic getting a chance to fix things. Besides," He smiled slightly, "You know the General. It'd drive him nuts to be stuck out of the action."

Ahsoka's voice was an urgent hissed whisper, conveying her frustration without allowing the occupant of the ajoining room to listen in, "I've been doing a lot of work these last few years, trying to find what to do about this. It wasn't easy." She paused, "Do you know how much knowledge about the dark side has been lost since the Republic?"

The clone looked slightly befuddled, "Well, I-"

"A lot. The Sith disappeared, and they simply didn't bother hanging onto it. And even before that, a similar thing happened after Darth Bane's little murder tantrum."

Rex stared at her, "Blast. How far back did you look?"

She sighed. "I've looked all over the galaxy. Ancient libraries, the basements of moldy old ruins of Jedi temples… everywhere. And while what I found was limited, and often referenced other stuff I didn't have, it was clear about some things." She paused, He needs quiet, and peace. Someplace he can rest and recover, as far away from the Empire and the war as possible."

The other responded, "…In a nice, secluded Jedi temple with Jedi healers who know what to do with this sort of thing, I take it."

Ahsoka's expression dropped and she nodded.

Rex sighed, "Of course. Fantastic."

He noticed the togruta had seated herself against the wall and he carefully joined her, grunting slightly as his joints protested the unaccustomed motion. Getting old really wasn't any fun. Finally he spoke, "I'm sorry… You know, I don't run things around here; it's not my call what happens to him. So far we've had our hands full just keeping him out from in front of a firing squad. We're doing what we can already. The only way they'll agree to even keep him alive is in exchange for information. I'm sorry, but that's the way it is."

The woman muttered something too softly for him to hear. "What was that?"

Ahsoka spoke up slightly, raising her voice to a barely discernable volume, downcast and still staring at the floor, "He tried to kill himself, Rex."

The clone was silent.

At last she continued, "He… he stole one of my sabers and tried to stab himself with it. I talked him out of it. Barely." She paused, still studying the floor panels, "I made him promise he'd let us have some time to prove things aren't so bad. I managed to wrest three months out of him. I said after that I'd let him die if he still wanted to."

Rex was sober, surprised (though not as much as he should have liked). He remembered Anakin telling him to leave him in the storeroom to suffocate or be tortured and wished he wasn't so glad the true breaking point had happened with Ahsoka and not him. Not that he wanted her to be put through that, but he didn't have the least idea what he would have done. "Three months isn't much time, particularly with his condition. Do you really think you can do it?"

She looked up, "Are you joking? I lied, Rex. Anakin's not that old; he's easily got fifty years left. If he thinks he's getting out of them he is very much mistaken. There's no way I'm letting him die. I just hope that I can come up with some better arguments before we repeat this in three months. The ones I had weren't cutting it."

They were both silent for a long time.

"I just… This isn't how I thought the beginning would be. Horrible and awful in other ways, sure, but not… this." She paused, "What happened?"

Rex looked at her, "What do you mean?"

"How did they get him back? Last time I saw him he seemed pretty firmly…" She trailed off.

The other's face was solemn, "I don't know. All I know is that the kid brought him back with him after the death star exploded. Neither one will tell me much more than that."

Ahsoka looked at him, "The kid… Anakin mentioned a son. Is that..?"

Rex sighed and nodded, "Luke. He turned up four years ago, soon after the battle of Sarish. Good kid. Good Jedi. Nothing to his father of course, but, uh, he means well." He paused, side eyeing Ahsoka, "With some training he could really amount to something."

The woman glanced at him questioningly, then her eyes widened as she realized his meaning, "No! Absolutely not! Rex, I left the Jedi for a reason, I'm not going back now."

"You left over twenty years ago over the actions of people who aren't in the picture anymore."

Ahsoka spoke under him, muttering, "That's one way to put it."

Rex pretended he hadn't heard, "It's different now. Whatever the order becomes, it will be a new creation; molded by the people who put time into it."

Ahsoka didn't answer, she was quiet for a while before looking up at the other, "What do you think happened?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"With Anakin. What do you think happened to him?"

Rex paused, "I don't know. It's not my place to judge."

The togruta paused before speaking, her voice hard and angry. "I think Sidious forced him."

"Ahsoka-"

"Well you saw him! He was all over Anakin, all the time. How many times did he pull him away from a mission, just to come back to Coruscant and 'chat?' It was disgusting!"

Then clone pulled the distraught woman into his side, trying to infuse some sense into the situation, "I'm not sure it really matters at this point. That was a long time ago and it's over now."

She paused, still seemingly on the line between tears and anger, "You saw him in there." Her voice dropped to a whisper, "How long do you think Sidious tortured him?"

"Do we know that he did?"

Ahsoka replied, "Oh, come on. Who else would have done that to him?" She paused again, "Anakin wouldn't have broken easily, that's all I know."

Rex was silent, "I don't know; I wasn't there at the end. And after you left… things were different. He took things harder, fought more. And people… they just kept dying and… he seemed to blame himself somehow."

"You think he willingly turned?" Ahsoka sounded horrified.

"I don't know."

"Because he wouldn't," she hissed back, "And those scars tell me everything I need to know."

Rex was less certain, but decided not to upset her by addressing it, "Anyway, the briefing will be starting soon. We should get going if we're going to be there for it."

She sighed, "Yeah, all right. I'll go say goodbye to Anakin and then we can go."

* * *

The briefing room was already nearly full of Rebellion brass. Ahsoka wandered through, noting the people she knew, avoiding those she didn't except for a few introductions. She found she had been separated from Rex, and started to look around for him.

Instead something caught her attention. A young blond man, dressed in black, stood near the window, paying very little attention to the socializing chaos around him. Something about him felt familiar…  
She gasped as he turned around and she saw his face.

She walked over, noticing as she did so the lightsaber hanging by his side. She smiled as she held out her hand, "Hello. Nice to meet you. I'm Ahsoka Tano." She paused, "You must be Luke."

"Um… yes." The boy stared at her, his eyes going wide as he saw the sabers she carried, "Who are you? Are you a Jedi?"

"Sort of. It's complicated."

He looked confused, and she felt her stomach twist as his brow furrowed up like Anakin's. It hurt, seeing his face on someone else, particularly after seeing the deformed ruin in the med-bay. "What do you mean, 'it's complicated?'"

"I was Anakin's apprentice back in the Republic."

He still seemed confused, "But I thought all the Jedi were dead."

Ahsoka nodded, "That's right." She continued quickly, not giving him time to respond, "I saw you over here, and, well… Anakin told me about you and I had to say hello… Um… How old are you?" That incredibly pertinent question kept niggling at her, demanding answers. When had Anakin ever… _Not that I mind, of course. I don't mind at all. I had better not be blushing._

Luke, meanwhile, was giving her a very strange expression, "Why does that matter?"

"Please answer the question."

"Um… twenty-three, but-"

She wasn't really paying attention. Twenty-three. That put his existence as after she left. Good. Wait… why did she care? She decided to switch the topic, "So… I'm told I have you to thank for him being alive."

Luke shrugged, "I guess. You said you know my Father?"

She nodded, "How did you bring him back? Please, I need to know."

Luke shrugged, "I don't know. I mean, I had been talking to him, working… After I found out who he was, it- it took me a while to accept it…"

Ahsoka looked sad, "Well, you didn't know him. You only knew the suit, of course you didn't want to accept that."

The young man stared at her, Anakin's blue eyes peering out at her appraisingly, "Yeah." He finally said. "I guess I still don't really." He paused, then sighed, continuing, "Anyway, I don't know how it happened. I got myself captured on Endor, because I had felt conflict in him. I thought if I could just talk to him… It did no good, and seemed only to strengthen his resolve. He took me before the Emperor…" Luke continued to talk, telling the story as best he could. That he could tell, his father betrayed the Emperor with no warning, and he could not figure out what steps had led him to that point, or if there were any. He privately worried that it may have been a spontaneous, temporary decision, one that would soon relapse. If that happened it could easily mean death for them all. He didn't mention his fears, but he hoped Ahsoka had some answers.

* * *

Anakin looked up in surprise as the door slid open. Who could it possibly be? He remembered Rex saying some people (or droids) might be by to turn it into a war-room. "Who's there?" He called.

A small boy, about three years old, came toddling through the door. The black-haired child stopped a few feet in, staring wide-eyed up at Anakin on slightly swaying legs.

"What are you doing here?"

Instead of answering, the boy grinned and waved.

Anakin continued to speak as the child wobbled across the floor, "Do your parents know where you are?"

"Mm-m."

The man watched him worriedly as he climbed onto the bed, "Look, I'm not sure you should be here. It's… dangerous."

Having successfully scaled his peak, the boy took a moment to study him appraisingly, "Oo Va'da?"

Anakin nodded, then paused "Are you scared?"

He seemed to think about that for a moment, "Mmm… no."

"No?" He paused, unable to stop himself from smiling at the child's face, "Well, I think there are some adults out there that might disagree with you."

The sentiment appeared to amuse him, "Oo not scawy!"

"Why not?"

The black-haired toddler ran his hands over the large scars on his scalp and beneath his eye, breaking into giggles a second later, "Oo look funny." He paused, "I 'dopt oo."

Anakin's face broke into a grin, "You'll adopt me?"

He nodded, still giggling slightly.

The man raised an eyebrow, "Do you adopt a lot of Imperials?"

The three-year-old's face scrunched up in thought, then he shook his head.

Anakin paused, questioning lines appearing in his forehead, "Do your parents know you're here?"

He shook his head.

"Um… What's your name anyway?"

The little boy opened his mouth to answer, then a calling voice from outside drew his attention, "Poe! Poe, where are you? Poe!"

Anakin nodded towards the door as Poe looked back at him, "Is that your Mom?" Nod. "You should get that." He paused, "Really. I'm fine. She'll be worried about you."

Finally the child carefully climbed off the bed, then toddled off, waving. "Bye, Va'da!" His grin was infectious, and Anakin couldn't help smiling in return.

He heard voices from outside.

"There you are! What were you doing in there? I was worried sick!"

Poe's babyish voice responded, "But Mommy, there's a man in there."

"I don't care if there's a man in there, you stay where I tell you. You could have been hurt." She paused, "Anyway, Daddy'll be back from his run soon; do you want to go meet him?" Another pause. Anakin guessed the boy nodded, "Let's go see Daddy." The voices began to fade as she walked away, "Maybe, if you're good, he'll take you up today."

And the last gleeful yell, "Up! Up! Yay!"


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Hello everyone! I am so, so incredibly sorry for how long I made you wait. I have been struggling with writer's block for some time now. Thankfully, it seems to be largely gone, so I am going to try to update all of my fics on at least a semi-regular basis.

 **Shadowstorm11** : I am so glad you're enjoying this fic. I love your username and picture by the way. I hope I hear from you again! **heremydear77** : Thank you, I'm glad I did it well. I do indeed hope to include Poe some more in the future. I love him and I think it's probably good for Anakin to have a child to look after (at least a little) anyway. Read on! **GrassssnakeGildedserpent** : He is. I love him. **Camidala** : I know. Glad you liked it! **TheVampireStrahd** : Interesting username. I would love to hear where you got it. In any case, here is your chapter. I hope you don't regret your wish. *evil laughter* **MarieBloom15** : Yes it is, and yes you will! His father is one of the pilots for the rebellion. Hey, he had to get it somewhere. Hope you enjoy! **Tevyecat** : Thank you so much for your review; you have no idea how much it means. **Iva1201** : Most of these threads, interestingly enough, will be addressed this chapter. As for Rex… I don't think the situation has been created that could shock him. He tends to take things in stride. Mostly he's just glad to have his friend back, regardless of the circumstances. Thank you for the complements; you are very sweet.

I do not own Star Wars or its characters

* * *

Chapter 10

* * *

 **Keldabe**

 **Mandalore**

 **Imperial Governmental Offices**

Many light years away from the rebellion, Obi-Wan Kenobi sat on a graceful bench along the wall of a great hall made of glass. Imperial officers rushed by, intent on their tasks, entirely oblivious to the invisible Jedi mere yards away.

This building had once been a palace, but after it had been nearly demolished in Maul's takeover it had been rebuilt and repurposed by the Empire into the governmental installation for Mandalore. Still, it reminded Obi-Wan of better times, of Satine, and he frequently stopped there when he needed to clear his head.

"I thought I might find you here."

A voice beside him roused Obi-Wan from his thoughts, and he looked up to see the familiar tall form of his master; studying him with parental concern.

"I find myself…worried."

The expression didn't change, "About Anakin." The statement was questioning, probing; a clear attempt to coax him into discussing his concerns.

Obi-Wan was quiet for a moment, "What should I do?"

"What do you think? What do your instincts tell you?"

He was once more silent. It was better than it had been on Tatooine, at least. Back then Qui-Gon had been nothing but a voice sometimes heard in deep meditation. Unfortunately, Qui-Gon's incomplete training had not allowed him to maintain more separation from the Force than that. Now that he was dead, his old master almost looked real; not quite as distinct as Yoda was, but easily visible. None of this, of course, made his answers to questions any easier to make useful.

"I don't know. What he did… I don't know if I can forgive him… It was inexcusable… horrific…"

"And yet you still care."

Obi-Wan looked down at the floor, nodding slightly.

There was a long silence, but finally Qui-Gon moved forward, sitting beside his apprentice to better interact, "I fear I cannot help you, Obi-Wan. This path is yours to take and you are the one who must choose it. Go to him if you will, or leave him to his own devices, you must do what you feel is right."

The other paused, "Perhaps you are right, however-" Qui-Gon had already disappeared, leaving him with his thoughts.

* * *

By the time Ahsoka returned to the medbay it was full of droids, busily moving to and fro, in and out, efficiently and quickly installing all the computers, holo-projectors, seating, etc. that would be required. She carefully dodged around them, trying not to impede them as she made her way back to the bed.

"So, how are you feeling?"

Anakin slowly forced himself upright on his elbows, lines appearing on his face from the exertion. "Like someone ran me over with a speeder."

Ahsoka smiled, "Well, I might have something to help with that." She pulled an odd-looking fruit (it was purple with soft, useless spines) out from somewhere and offered it to him. "Here, eat. You'll feel better." Anakin failed to move to accept it and the togruta became more insistent, "I looked at your records; you haven't eaten anything since you got here. This room is going to be filled with all the generals they can scrounge up soon, here to listen to you; you need to keep up your strength. Come on."

His voice was quiet when he finally spoke, "I don't eat anymore. It hurts too much." He paused, glancing briefly at the array of machines and IV stands sitting nearby, "They have me on a nutrient feed anyway. I'll be fine; don't worry about me."

Ahsoka sighed, but didn't press the issue. Instead she sat on the edge of the bed, readying herself to ensure he was properly prepared for the meeting.

Her question was stopped in her throat when Anakin, as close to beaming as he seemed likely to get any time in the near future, broke in, "By the way, look what Luke found!" He seemed to be gesturing towards a low platform nearly level with the floor, and Ahsoka took a moment to manage an appropriately excited noise of response. Anakin, thankfully, didn't appear to notice. "I asked Luke for this a while ago. Someone hasn't been taking care of R2 and his jets are broken. Apparently Han had one lying around on his ship."

"Great."

"You see, I can't get up, but this way I can just have him roll onto the table, then raise it with this remote to my level so I can work on him! It's perfect!" Having taken said remote in hand he raised it and lowered it slightly a few times demonstratively.

She was glad; after all she was familiar with how much he enjoyed tinkering and it might be an effective distraction, however they had a few other concerns. To that end she tried to turn the conversation toward more important matters. She squared her torso facing him, her hand rested near his knee (or at least where it should have been). "Wonderful. Now, do you know what you're planning to say to them?"

"Mm-hm" He still seemed distracted with raising and lowering his new toy.

"Anakin?"

"What? Oh, um," He paused, then continued, sounding as though he had rehearsed, "I greet them as they arrive, then present my plan. …And I try not to kill the irritating ones."

She nodded, then smiled reassuringly, "You'll do fine. Okay, they seem to be almost finished setting this up. Will you be all right on your own? I can sit next to you if you need me to."

* * *

In the end everyone filed in, with Ahsoka on his right and Luke on his left, watchful as guard dogs, while Rex settled in close to one wall, in a strategic location that afforded him a good view of the room. Leia, Anakin couldn't help but noticed, situated herself as far away from him as she could manage, Han beside her for moral support.

Her father studied the young man, unsure. He seemed nice, certainly, and he had comported himself well in their brief conversation, but he was still a smuggler, which would tend to indicate a certain psychological profile. If he and Leia were together… He made a mental note to talk to Han alone later.

Thus far the meeting hadn't started; everyone talking and finding their seats while the older ones (almost all veterans of the Republic Army and the Clone Wars, Anakin noticed) glared at him furiously. The younger people weren't friendly either, however they seemed mostly content to pointedly ignore him. He supposed the name 'Anakin Skywalker' might have been slightly more recognizable to the older crowd, rendering him a traitor for them rather than merely a genocidal maniac.

Finally the meeting was called to order, opening pleasantries disposed of, and he began.

"Thank you for meeting with me. My friends, I know this war has been an uphill battle for you. From the start you have been short of weapons, supplies, funding… With limited places to operate, few victories, and all of the Empire's finest troops constantly hunting you. No one would have ever blamed you if you had simply given up and gone home, or never started in the first place. And yet you didn't. You continued to fight, clawing and scratching until you started to prevail." He smiled slightly, "And you have. You have won time and time again, until now… the end finally seems to be in sight. You have done well."

The room appeared entirely unimpressed.

He continued, "Now, on to business. Gamorra is not a base. It is a distribution center. This is why I warned that it could not be taken with normal methods using the forces you possess."

A voice spoke up as if to correct him, "You don't know what forces we possess."

Anakin looked down his nose at the miscreant. Once upon a time, an officer wouldn't have dared say such a thing to his face, particularly not one without significant ties to the Imperial leadership, if not the Emperor himself.

' _They don't respect you.'_ Said the little voice, _'They don't fear you. You could make them. One little demonstration-'_

He ignored it. "Actually, yes, I do. The Emperor kept very close tabs on Rebel activity at all times. Obviously not close enough, but I certainly know your basic resources. Moving on…" He paused to lean over and turn on the map on the holoprojector set up in front of the bed, "Resources are not directly sent to any base or station. To simplify things, and to limit what Rebel agents could discover, no individual is told exactly where they are shipping to. Soldiers, weapons, and supplies are sent to the secure distribution center for a sector, then sent from there in smaller ships to their final destination. Destroying Gamorra will indeed cripple Imperial efforts in this area, and it will send an important message to whoever has taken over.

Doing so will not be easy, however I have a plan. It will work." He now focused his attention properly on the map, "You can't take the forces there on directly. You need to draw them out and leave it weakened. Secret listening posts and waystations are dotted all over this area; the best ones for our purposes, I think, are here, here, here, here, here and… here." As he spoke he pointed to places on the map, the points lighting up red in his wake. "There are a few more you could use, but I don't think we need them. You need to send small groups to attack each one. _Make sure_ they have time to send a panicked distress call, and be sure to destroy a couple of them, to give Gamorra the proper motivation to act. Once they send reinforcements, a team of your best fighters should be sent to blow up the facility. As few as possible, two or three would be best to avoid detection. They should be sent in a nonidentifiable ship… one with cloaking or disguising technology would be ideal if you have it. Any questions?"

The room was quiet. Certain people he had known well (Rex and Ahsoka in particular) looked like they were remembering past plans of his and stifling sarcastic remarks.

Finally a young Twi-Lek general spoke, seated casually in the middle of the room with her elbows rested on her knees. "My ship could take the demolition team." The green woman continued as all eyes turned towards her, "The Ghost can mask its signature with that of another ship. As long as no one digs to deep into the signal, it won't be detected. And with all the trouble the Falcon has been causing in the last few years, I doubt they're looking too hard for us."

Mon Mothma hurriedly intervened before the planning could progress any further, "If that is quite all, we will continue this meeting in the conference room. Thank you all for your attendance."

* * *

"So," She continued once the group was out of earshot in a new room, "What does everyone think? Can he be trusted?" She paused as everyone failed to respond, "If we commit to this, and it turns out to be false, or worse yet a purposeful trap, then we could be putting ourselves in very great danger."

"It's _Darth Vader_ , of course we shouldn't trust him."

Ahsoka saw Luke glare angrily at the man who had spoken.

"I have an idea. We still have the suit, right?" He turned to Luke, "Well, don't we?"

Luke reluctantly agreed.

"A lot of people could be killed with this plan, so… I have a better idea. Vader is a killing machine, we all know this. I mean, he has singlehandedly killed entire armies… torn fleets apart with one TIE fighter, he is essentially unstoppable. So, I suggest we simply fix the suit, stick the prosthetics back on, and airdrop him into Gamorra. I'm pretty sure he could deal with it, and if he dies in the process… well, at least we haven't lost anyone important."

"NO ONE IMPORTANT?!" Ahsoka, who had been about launch into the man, changed her mind. Anakin's son was on his feet, his eyes blazing with a rage that she knew from experience not to get in front of. With everyone distracted, Rex slid quietly out the door. Luke continued his tirade, "How could you possibly say that?! Hasn't he been helping us? Hasn't he been through enough?"

"I just think we are wasting a powerful weapon that could help us win this war. If we-"

"You saw him in there! Are you trying to turn him back to the dark side? He's a person, not a machine, and he is already helping as much as he can!"

"Oh, come on! What are you defending him for? You know his record. I mean, what are we doing? Are we just going to forget about Alderaan? About Geonosis and Lasan? Are we just going to let those horrors slide? I'm sorry, this is wrong. That- that _thing_ is pure evil, and you'll see it if you go through with this. He's going to betray us, mark my words. He's just waiting for his chance."

Ahsoka quickly put put her hand on Luke's arm, barely preventing him from jumping on the other. She had to admit it was a good thing she had to restrain him; otherwise she might have attacked the man herself.

"As much as it pains me to say it," Leia said, "I don't think it is a trap… Well, think about it; he doesn't have any reason to lie; I don't see how he would arrange a trap from our medbay even if he wanted to. Yes. I think, in this case, we can trust him." She paused, eyeing the man up and down, "And how dare you suggest that we have forgotten what the Empire has done." She didn't say anything further, but her expression said more than any 'Shame on you!' could have. As eyes turned away from her, Han put his arm supportively around her shoulders.

Luke and Ahsoka had been whispering between themselves and now Luke spoke up, "By the way, we would like to volunteer for the solo mission." His eye caught that of the Twi-Lek and she nodded an acknowledgment.

Mothma turned to address them, seemingly relieved by the slight change in topic, "Thank you. Do you need a larger team? I am sure many people would be willing to help."

The pair shook their heads in the negative, "I think from what he said, two Jedi should be sufficient."

The green woman broke in, "My crew will, of course, be available for backup if anything goes wrong. I think it should be enough."

Mothma appeared satisfied, "Very well. We shall put it to a vote. If it passes, we will begin delegating crews for the diversionary attacks."

* * *

As Luke came out of the meeting he spotted an old man leaning against the wall nearby. He hurried over. "Rex, hey! Hey it passed! Ahsoka's coming with me; we're going to make the mission into Gamorra- Hey, Ahsoka!" He beckoned, "Over here! –I don't know why you left, we could have used some backup. It got pretty tense in there for a minute."

Rex nodded as the togruta made her way over, "I know. I left to talk to the doctor. Arranged it so they wouldn't be able to send him in even if they wanted to."

Ahsoka looked suspicious and mildly worried, "What do you mean?"

"I talked to her and got the surgery moved up; they're prepping for it now. It should keep him safe for a while; you can't send an unconscious man into battle, after all. He wants to see you both though, so I'd go on. I already talked to him."

"Thanks Rex." Luke was off like a shot for the medbay.

Ahsoka lingered a bit more, smiling at her old friend, "I owe you one."

"Not at all. General Skywalker deserves better than that. I couldn't let them do it."

"I know. Thank you anyway." The pair embraced, then she moved off.

* * *

"Father?" The young man peeked through the door, uncertain what he would see, then relaxed as he saw everything was normal. They may have been prepping for surgery, but it hadn't yet affected this room outside of removing the clutter needed for the briefing.

Anakin sat up in bed, looking over R2 on a raised table beside him. He smiled at the voice, "Luke! It's good to see you. Come here. How did it go?"

Luke made his way over, glancing fascinatedly at the partially disassembled droid his father was going over meticulously with a small tool. "It went well. They accepted your plan, and Ahsoka and I are going on the mission together." He paused as a cloud passed over Anakin's face, "We thought two Jedi likely have a better chance than anyone else."

The older man nodded, but still felt deeply distressed, even if he was outwardly hiding it. "You've met her then."

"Yes. She seems nice, I would like to get to know her better… What are you working on?"

Anakin hadn't paused during the conversation, and continued to work as he spoke, "Well, I won't have many opportunities to work on him soon, so I thought I could at least do a diagnostic, maybe get an idea of just how many repairs he needs, before…" He trailed off, then distractedly turned to a pad, "Um… busted fuse along the secondary line… structural damage… bent fuel line on the R strut…"

Luke was starting to get worried, "Father? Are you all right?"

"What? Yes, I'm fine." Finally he paused, falling back against the pillows and looking Luke up and down as he rubbed his hands with a grease-spotted rag. "Be careful out there."

"Of course I will."

The shell was breaking, worried lines had appeared in his forehead, "I mean it. You come back in one piece; do you understand?"

"Yes, Father."

"You know I love you, don't you?"

He nodded.

Anakin was quiet, studying his son, seemingly burning his face into his memory. Finally he spoke, "All right, well, Ahsoka's waiting. I don't know how long we have, so… If you could send her in, that would be great." They said their goodbyes and Luke departed, back to his quarters to begin preparing for the mission. He had a couple of days, but there was a lot to do, and he thought that he may as well get started.

Ahsoka hesitantly approached the bed after he left, still having to suppress a shudder at the sight of her friend. He had given up work entirely, and was simply staring at a single spot on the wall, lost in thought. He started as she said his name.

"Ahsoka."

The distress was obvious, "What's wrong?"

Anakin sighed, slowly turning his head to look at her, "Is it true, what Luke said, that you two are going to Gamorra alone?"

"Not alone. Hera Syndulla and her crew are taking us." He looked back at the wall, unspeaking, the distress greater than ever.

She couldn't help but remember what the man had said in the meeting, that it was quite possible this was all a trap. She didn't like to think he would do it, but Ahsoka wasn't nearly naïve enough to entirely trust him. Vader might have made a resurgence, and she hadn't forgotten the incident with the lightsaber. "Is there something you want to tell me, Anakin?"

Silence. An eventual slight shake of the head was all the answer she got.

"Is this a trap?" She paused, "There's still time. If you tell me I might get out of it alive."

He looked shocked, "What? Th-this isn't a trap. Why would you think that?"

"Okay, good." She paused again, her voice softening to a gentler tone, "What is it?"

He seemed to have finally geared himself up, and blurted, "Could you… take care of Luke for me? It's just… he's young, and not as skilled as he thinks; it's going to get him into trouble."

She smiled reassuringly, "I'm sure he'll be fine. He defeated you didn't he?"

There was a brief pause, "I… sort of let him win. What was I supposed to do? I wasn't going to kill him. I wanted to die anyway; what did it matter?" Silence reigned as he worked to shift gears, "Just… bring him back safely, will you? It is going to be dangerous, and I'll feel better knowing that you're watching his back."

Ahsoka threw him a teasing look, "Aren't you worried about me?"

"You'll be fine, I know it. Be careful, of course, but you can handle it. I just… I can't lose Luke. I need my son. Please-"

"Don't worry, I'll look after him."

Anakin suddenly seemed a great deal lighter; he smiled faintly and settled back into the pillows, "Thank you."

A droid had come in while they were talking, clearing away the chair and tables near the bed, removing the open white shirt from the patient. Without it the pale, scarred skin nearly blended with the sheets, and the arms transitioned sharply into metal, leaving him looking even less human than before. It also removed the outer sheets and pillows, getting them out of the way for surgery.

Now it brought in a different, sterile metal table with a thin pad, covered in instruments with a protective lid, and yet another IV pole and machine. It moved about, carefully rearranging things into the optimal arrangement, ignoring Ahsoka pretty much completely.

It was time to leave. "I'll see you soon okay? I should be going." She turned, headed for the door.

"Wait." The hoarse, frightened word stopped her and she turned back.

"Don't leave me, please." To her surprise the man looked terrified, eyes wide and tear-filled, panicky, shallow breaths that sounded like he was barely holding together, the more relaxed veneer gone. Ahsoka hurried back to his side, gripping his hand tightly in reassurance, "I'm here. I'm here; it's okay."

"I'm scared," His eyes closed, his voice barely above a terrified whisper, "I'm so scared."

She tightened her grip on the metal, holding his hand up where he could see it as she remembered the lack of feeling in it. "It's okay." She repeated.

He appeared slightly calmer, finally speaking again, "Do you think… they will give me something to bite on?"

 _Weird_ "Why?"

"It's just… it hurt so much… I couldn't keep from screaming… No, no, I can't do this again, no. I thought I could but I can't… It's true, I'm weak. I'm weak, I can't do it."

"Hey, hey," She soothed, "It'll be okay."

He barely heard her, flashbacks running through his head: rain falling in steaming drops on his burned body, each one like a red-hot iron, the droids ripping off the burned fragments of clothing and ruined skin, letting him scream and writhe in agony with each motion, even the feeling of the table beneath him unbearable on his fresh wounds. Not again. Not again. He couldn't do that again.

He could still feel the knives piercing his flesh…

"HEY! Look at me!" Two hands panted themselves on either side of his face, forcing it in another direction, and his vision finally resolved into… Ahsoka. What was Ahsoka doing there? Sidious would have killed her.

"Listen to me, it's going to be okay. Doctor Gormul is here now; she and these droids are going to help you. Everything will be all right. Just focus on me."

He did, blocking out everything else, and slowly he felt the panic begin to subside; his breathing slowing, his pulse beginning to get back under control as the bustle and activity continued around him. There was a voice, the tubes were removed from his nose, there was a brief moment of searing pain as he took an unassisted breath, then a mask was placed over the lower part of his face. He kept watching Ahsoka, the woman continuing to babble comforting nothings throughout. Then someone took his arm, switched arms and moved an IV pole around the bed as they realized they had picked the arm cut above the elbow, then there was a quick prick and a swift decline into sweet, blissful oblivion.


End file.
